


It 




U‘‘ ! • •* 1 

Smi y , 




Tjk'.' ■ ; - 


^ .v\. 


‘Jr'--' 






1 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 


I 


I 











STAR PEOPLE AND THE JANE ELLEN 


★ 

: STAR PEOPLE 

★ 

BY 

★ 

^ KATHARINE FAY DEWEY 

n 

★ 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY 
^ FRANCES B. COMSTOCK 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ BOSTON AND NEW YORK 

^ HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

Cambriboe 

1910 

★ 



★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 


★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 

★ 




U^is* 

5 


COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY KATHARINE FAY DEWEY 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

Published October igio 



©GI,A2?51'..2 


TO THREE LITTLE KATHARINES 


Oh^ Katharines three^ 

Come sail with me 
Where the ship of my Fancy flies! 

We V/ wander free 
Over land and sea, 

Then sail away to the skies. 

If I were a star. 

So far — so far — 

From this Earth where the children dwell. 
My twinkliest beam 
For that ship should gleam ; 

And my truest secret I 'd tell 
To the eyes that look 
Through fancy. — No hook 
Nor telescope serves so well. 








I 


CONTENTS 


I. The Princess and the Others i 

Introduces some people in Garden and Sky. 

Meet them now if you like., or come back by and by. 

11 . The Sailor’s Star ii 

Tells how the Jane Ellen sailed far o'^er the sea; 

Found a rock., built a ladder., and pleased Little B. 

III. The Comet and the Pole Star '.42 


On the sands of the seashore you. learn what befell 
A bad little Comet . — Oh., it punished hhn well I 


IV. Old Sol’s Menagerie 65 

The cages are safe., though you can't see the bars ; 

The Zodiac Circus, — Performers all Stars / 

V. Major 80 

Here comes a great Wagon. Ahoy! Who goes there! 

Did some one say, “ Dipper ” ? Why ! — V is you, Mr. Bear f 

VI. The Bee Baby 98 

Were I seeking a spot that was safe for a babe, or 
To build me a cot, and would not lose my labor, 

I would not choose Xyntli, myself, for a neighbor / 


Vlll 


CONTENTS 


VII. Lady Moon’s Lantern 127 

Rise^ rise, Lady Moon / Soar high, — sail over / — 

Where is Bee Baby now ? Shall I discover ? 

VI 11 . Andromeda’s Birthday 133 

Meteors are ripe / A touch makes them fly. 

I suspect there HI be doings to-night in the Sky. 

IX. A Surprise Party 149 

It was all Little Bear : {though they all said they all knew it.f) 

But for him they '‘d have paid no attention at all to it. 

X . Travelers’ Tales 171 

Tip-top d the Mill — There H the Jit startingpiace 
For a highflier journey through direful Space / 

XL Torquillon’s Lair 192 

His spirit was selfish, his ways impolite. 


Hey / Ships and Star People ! Ye made a brave fight ! 


Epilogue 


230 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Star People and the Jane Ellen Frontispiece 

They watched with her 4 

Tom Green’s Chanty 26 

Everybody watched him go up and up ........ 30 

“Oh, dear Taffy, let me take care of the Sailor’s Star” ... 38 

Draco 46 

A more rascally comet you would n’t care to see 50 

Orion 56 

Orion’s Dogs and Little Bear 64 

“Shall we not walk together, sir?” 70 

Cassiopeia 76 

“ Why, I thought you were a wagon,” he said, “ but where are 

your hortheth ? ” 86 

Andromeda 98 

They thought only of their flight 116 

His wondering eyes looked from Lady Moon’s shoulder. . .124 

The small round shadow passed on across the bright lantern of 

the moon 130 


X ILLUSTRATIONS 

Three Orions couldn’t have stopped them 146 

Little Bear stopped by the bush 154 

He found Merope sitting alone iSoc^ 

The sisters were dancing — the very prettiest and most twirly 

of the “ Sailor’s Knots ” 190 

Down the channel he came flying 210 

Standing lightly on the yards, high, high in the air, the twin 

brothers Castor and Pollux 216 


STAR PEOPLE 



STAR PEOPLE 


I 

THE PRINCESS AND THE OTHERS 



O they came to the place where the 
Princess was. And when they looked 
down there were treetops — 

But that is not a proper beginning 
when nobody knows who they were 
or anything about it. 

There were four of them, — the Princess and three 
Others. 

What the Princess’s name was is n’t to be told, and she 
was not a real princess. But that made no difference to the 
Others. She was the most wonderful person they knew, and 
everything a princess should be, and they loved her loyally. 



2 


STAR PEOPLE 


The Others were called Prudence, Pat, and the Kitten ; 
but the true name of each one of them was the true name 
of the Princess, — that is n’t to be told and doesn’t matter. 

Prudence was the oldest, and very wise. (That was why 
she was Prudence, but more often the Princess said, “ Miss 
Phyllis-y.”) She had brown eyes, clear and steady, and 
short hair. There was a perky little lock on one side of the 
middle of her forehead that reminded the Princess of a 
question mark. She was small and looked years younger 
than she was, and that made her funny when she was so 
sagacious. 

Pat was the tallest and the most impatient. (So they 
called her “ Patience ” — because she was n’t ! — and short- 
ened it to Pat.) She talked with her eyebrows ; and some- 
times they would fairly frighten you if you did n’t know she 
couldn’t do it! Her hair was braided and tied tight, but 
usually a good deal of it escaped and ruffled before it reached 
the braids. She was over nine and Miss Phyllisy was not 
far from twelve, and they considered the Kitten extremely 
young, — which the Kitten did n’t deny. She was young, 
and she had other kitten-tricks, — like coming and sitting 
on a person’s knee without being invited when she wanted 
to, and other times being very independent and going her 
own ways; and she made soft little songs for herself, — that 


THE PRINCESS AND THE OTHERS 3 

did n’t begin or end any more than a real kitten’s, — and 
purring sounds instead of talking when she was pleased. 
But she could talk faster than countless kittens when there 
was any occasion for it. 

That is who they were. And any one can fancy how 
they were frisking about in the garden and out, — and the 
nearer it grew to bedtime, the farther they kept from the 
house ; and how they trailed up the crooked path on the 
side of the hill, — the Kitten following along, making a 
song for herself, — and finally came to the farthest, high, 
wild lookout place, with a railing at the edge overlooking 
the dark treetops. And there they found the Princess 
watching pale little stars coming out in the light sky. 

The Kitten did n’t come close until she was ready, and 
then she immediately cuddled up, sleepy ; but the Others 
went straight to the Princess. She put her arm around 
them and they leaned against her, but they didn’t talk, 
they watched with her. And more stars came out where 
they looked steadily, and others came where they did n’t 
look, more than they could count, all silent, to look back 
at them. And the Princess was smiling to herself. — 

But that didn’t suit Pat very long, it made her uneasy. 
First she puckered her eyebrows, but nobody saw her; 


4 


STAR PEOPLE 


then she sighed, but nobody noticed; then she spoke, — 
“ What are you looking at ? ” 

The Princess still looked, but she squeezed with her arm. 
“ Some people I know. Friends of a friend of mine.” 

Pat did n’t understand, so she grew wary (that was one 
of her ways). She twitched her shoulder, but she would n’t 
be the next to speak — unless it were too long ! 

“ What people. Dearie .? ” asked Prudence, when they 
had waited a minute and the Princess did n’t speak 
again. 

“ Most illustrious, highly exalted. A king and a queen, a 
royal dragon, and an indispensable little bear — wonder- 
folk,” ended the Princess, as if that explained it. 

“You’re looking at the stars,” said Pat-who-would-n’t- 
be-imposed-upon. 

“Star People, Pat. Can you guess now.?” 

“ I think I can. Dearie. But you tell,” said Prudence. 

The Princess took her arm away so she could point 
with it, and she put her head down beside a dreadfully 
scowling little girl’s, so they could look along and off the 
end of the same finger. It pointed where five stars made 
a zigzag in the sky. She pointed to one after another. 

“ Look like a ‘ W,’ don’t they, Pat .? — But there ’s another 
star — very pale — and another off here. Now, see — tipped 



THEY WATCHED WITH HER 





' V 


\ 


/ 



I 


I 






\ * V. 




! 


i 

V 



THE PRINCESS AND THE OTHERS 5 

up — so — Is n’t that a pretty good chair ? How would you 
like to sit there and overlook things ? ” 

“ Cassiopeia would n’t let her,” said Prudence. “ That ’s 
Cassiopeia’s Chair, Pat. She does n’t allow any one to sit 
in it.” 

“ I don’t want to.” Pat spoke in a loud whisper. 

“ That is where you ’re mistaken, Miss Phyllisy,” said 
the Princess. “She would n’t mind a bit. But she is sitting 
there herself, this minute.” 

“ Really, Princess ? I did n’t know that ! ” 

“Did you ever see her out of it?'' (Miss Phyllisy 
giggled.) “ There is one of the stars on her most loftical 
head. Do you see it ? " 

“ Who said it was that.^ ” asked Pat. Her manner was 
a trifle threatening, but she was ready to be friends. 

“ Said what ? " 

“ Cas — what you called it. Why did you call it that-.*^ ” 

“ Cassiopeia’s Chair.? That is what it was named long and 
long ago.” 

“ Long as Ancients ? " (The Princess knew all about 
the Ancients, — several kinds of them. She knew every- 
thing.) 

“ Long as that,” she answered. “ They’re the very ones 
who named the Star People for us, saw the figures in the 


6 


STAR PEOPLE 


stars, and gave them the names of their own gods and 
heroes, animals, — all sorts of queer things. Useful lives 
they led, those Star People, ever after.” 

“ How were they useful.? ” asked Phyllisy. 

“ To the sailors. Beloveds, most of all, or any one who 
wants to find his way where there ’s nothing on Earth to 
guide him. In the middle of the most vastest ocean or the 
most widest plain, all they have to do is to look up and 
see where the Star People are ; then they’ll know where 
they are themselves, and where to go to be somewhere 
else. Of course the Star People can’t help any one who 
does n’t know them,” she added. 

“We don’t. We could be lost any time,” said Pat. 

“ You might have been once, but not after this. There ’s 
a whole Royal Family right before your eyes now: Queen 
Cassiopeia on her throne and King Cepheus beside her 
and their pretty daughter, Andromeda. — That is one of 
Cepheus’ stars — and there ’s another.” The Princess drew 
lines with her finger from the stars of the big “ W ” to the 
ones they wanted to find. And the Others picked them 
out, passing from star to star like crossing a brook, jump- 
ing from stone to stone. There were different colors, too, 
to help them. The Princess saw them plainly, — red stars 
and blue and yellow, and never before had the Others 


THE PRINCESS AND THE OTHERS 7 

seen anything but all alike and plain shining. At first they 
believed it only because the Princess said so ; then they 
began to see it themselves, but it was still too light to see 
very well. And they found a few stars of Andromeda. 

“There is a beautiful young hero who belongs with 
them,” said the Princess. “ He ’s down below the tree-tops 
now; he will come up later. He is Perseus, — the Rescuer. 
He helped the Cassiopeia family out of terrible trouble 
when they were all Earth People.” 

“ Oh ! ” exclaimed Phyllisy. “ Perseus-and-the-Gorgon ? ” 

“ No less. A friend of yours, Miss Phillisy ? ” 

Miss Phyllisy nodded, and Pat twisted her eyebrow. 

“ Well, — she ’s eleven and nine months, and I 'm only 
nine and seven months,” she said, just as if she were argu- 
ing something. 

“ I only happened to, Pat,” said Phyllisy. 

“ She ’ll tell you some time ; then you ’ll know him too,” 
said the Princess. “ I want to show you somebody splen- 
did. Tip your heads up. Do you see four stars that make 
a long diamond, — three brighter and one not so bright at 
the point ? That ’s Draco’s head, — the great Dragon. 
See his spiky wings lifted. His tail comes down this way. 
Look, — a curl, — so.” She swung her finger around. 
“ Is n’t he fine ? Keep your eye right on him and I ’ll tell 


8 


STAR PEOPLE 


you who he is. He isn’t one of your common, every- 
day dragons you meet so often. — Is your eye on him, 
Pat?” 

Pat tipped her head up, then she tipped it down and 
nodded. The Princess squeezed the young Other One, 
who was sleepy, in the hollow of her arm, and began in a 
story-telling voice : “ There was once a young man named 
Jason, who had a great many adventures. One of them 
was when he set out to bring home the fleece of a ram. 
(A ram is a grown-up lamb. Kitten.” The Kitten made a 
funny little bleating noise, like a mother-cat; but she was 
only partly awake.) “ And this was a golden fleece. And it 
hung on a tree all-by-alone, where any one might have 
stolen it, — only, it was guarded by a great dragon that 
lay curly at the foot of the tree, and never closed his eyes, 
watching it. And that was the very identical Dragon 
you ’re looking at this minute.” 

“ Tell us what happened then. Dearie, — when he 
didn’t close his eyes,” urged Phyllisy, after they had 
looked again at the Dragon. 

“ He did!^'‘ the Princess closed the words off — snap! — 
so they were tight shut, — and the Others giggled. “Jason 
gave him some magic drops that put him to sleep, and 
carried off the fleece.” 


THE PRINCESS AND THE OTHERS 9 

“ What did they do to the Dragon when they found the 
fleece was gone ? ” 

“ I was n’t exactly there, Phyllisy ; but you may judge by 
this, they made him a Star Person to reward him because 
he was a good reliable dragon until he met a Bewitchment 
that he could n’t help. — And he ’s very happy there in the 
Sky, half surrounding the indispensable Little Bear who 
carries the Sailor’s Star on the tip of his tail. He’s still 
guarding something very precious, you see.” 

“You have n’t told us about the indispensable little 
bear,” said Phyllisy. 

“ Tell about little bear,” the Kitten murmured. 

“ Tell us,” said Pat, coaxing the Princess’s hand up and 
down. 

The Princess did n’t answer at once. She was looking 
up into the twinkly blue — very far away — as if she were 
forgetting the Others. At last she spoke : “ Little Bear is 
a very special friend and friend’s friend. I ’d rather tell you 
about him another time, — when he is n’t listening.” 

“ Can he hear ? ” Pat whispered it. 

“ Surely, — and carry messages.” 

“ Will he do it?” 

“He did, — brought me one and took one.” 

“ Oh-h, — what did he say ? ” 


lO 


STAR PEOPLE 


The Princess laid her fingers on her lips. 

“ Is it secrets? ” asked Phyllisy. 

“ Long secrets.” Her voice smiled in the dusk. “ But 
I ’ll tell you the Word of it, — ‘ Faithful’ ” 

The Sky was dark and deep and crowded with stars. 
They sat very still and mysterious while a wind came out 
of Beyond. They could hear it turning back the leaves 
in the treetops, — saying, “ H — ss-sh — ” as it passed 
through, and all the stars winked. — 

“ Wake up. Kitten ! ” said the Princess. 

But she did n’t have to wake up entirely, for the Princess 
held her hand coming back, down the rocky steps and 
along the paths, and her feet walked themselves. 


II 

THE SAILOR^S STAR 



^ UITE suddenly the Princess was there, 
at the head of the path where four steps 
^ came down the terrace, — all silken and 
wonderful and growing up into a rose 
at the top, that was n’t a rose but a hat ! 
The Others dropped everything and 
ran, and she waited until they got there and hung on her 
arms. And they walked around her to look at it in the 
back. 

“ What kind of a party was it ? ” asked Pat. 

“ They were married and lived happy ever after, and 
there were bridesmaids all in a row,” said the Princess. 
“So there was n’t any more to that; — and if anybody 



12 


STAR PEOPLE 


wanted me to tell them about how the Pole Star happened, 
I should say this was the most suitable time.” 

“ It is for us, very convenient,” said Miss Phyllisy. “We ’ll 
come this minute.” 

They waited while the Princess gathered up her skirt 
where it trailed, — soft outside, but fluffy under, — and 
threw it over her arm, to start fair : One, two, three, and 
away! 

The Kitten won, because she truly ran very fast and she 
looked straight ahead, but Pat wanted to see behind at the 
same time, to know if the others were gaining. 

By the Shadow Pool, they two watched the Princess 
with Prudence beside her — very companionable — walk- 
ing the last bit of it — across the little bridge below, then 
turning up the dark path on the edge of the ravine, with 
trees arching over from the hillside. Looking out the other 
way through a gap in the trees, they could see — like a 
picture in a frame — the steps coming down the terrace 
and the path curving down by the petunias, all in the sun, 
then dropping away out of sight into the trees that it came 
out of to cross the bridge. 

In here it was cool and deep shade, in tall woods on the 
steep hillsides that opened out like a “ V.” There were 
rocks with maidenhair and moss in the banks behind ; and 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


13 


in the point of the “ V ” — higher than any one could reach 
— a thin waterfall came over the edge of the rock, and 
fell a little way, and slid the rest into the still pool with 
goldfish in it, and others that were the same color as 
shadows in water and scarcely showed unless they darted 
across. The water went on over another edge that was 
made for it, and ran away at the bottom of the ravine, — 
hunting for the sea ; but the fishes lived there for always. 
There were seats around the pool in convenient places 
where a tree or a rock made part of it and twisted wood the 
rest. But there was one broad seat with a high twisted 
back against the rocks behind, and a long flat rock before 
it for a footstool, that was stately for the Princess. 

She pulled out long pins, — curious ones, carved at the 
top, — and the hat that was n’t a rose, but grew up as if it 
were part of her, came off and left her altogether finished 
without it, with coils on top. 

And because the Princess was willing. Miss Phyllisy put 
it on her own head. The Shadow Pool was a mirror, so she 
could see if it looked as if it were growing there, and Pat 
looked with her. But Pat looked also at the back of Miss 
Phyllisy’s head. “ It ought to be more hair — done up,” she 
said. Phyllisy twisted her head to see in the pool, and she 
put up her hand and felt down her hair behind ; it ended in 


14 


STAR PEOPLE 


a point in the middle of her neck, — the locks crossing in 
from the sides, — like a very small duck’s tail, about an inch. 
The Kitten slipped her finger under and turned up the 
lock, and it curved around the finger. 

So Phyllisy took the hat off and they put it carefully where 
it would n’t fall, and “would be all right. Dearie,” — and 
they settled down in their most usual places : Phyllisy, 
where she could look into the pool from across and see the 
Princess upside down ; Pat, in the narrow seat in the crotch 
between two trees, — but she would move to another pretty 
soon, because she always did, — and the Kitten, sitting on 
her foot in the seat next largest to the Princess’s. 

“ It is about the last, youngest Star Person of all ; and 
how there came to be the Pole Star,” said the Princess. 

“We ’ve told the Kitten what she did n’t hear, all she 
could understand; — so you won’t have to plan about 
that,” said Prudence. 

“ I could understand before,” said the Kitten. “ I heard, 
too, — myself.” 

“ Oh, Dearie,” — Prudence had “ Dearies ” to spare for 
others beside the Princess, — “ you were asleep, and you 
could n’t be expected to understand it all ; you ’re such a 
little girl — under seven.” 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


15 

“ I going to tell it most particularly to you, Kitten. 
Now, see if you don’t,” said the Princess. 

She leaned a little forward on the stately seat, her elbow 
on her knee, and the silken folds fallen down on the broad 
stone. She looked for a long moment, her eyes shining 
straight out. And then she began : — 

“ Once upon a time, so long ago that nobody can re- 
member when, a beautiful ship was sailing along under a 
spanking breeze with all sails set. The name of the ship 
was the Jane Ellen, and she was named for the Captain’s 
wife. At her prow was the figure of a mermaid, with long 
waving hair ; and the head of the mermaid was like the 
head of the Captain’s wife. But that was when she was 
young. Now she sat at home and knit ; but to the Captain 
she looked just like the lovely mermaid, and he kept the 
Jane Ellen spick and span from truck to keel, — the finest 
ship afloat, as she was the best of wives.” 

(No one could tell stories as the Princess told them. 
The things she told she knew so well, it was as if she 
were seeing them, and words were waiting for her and 
came orderly, just as she needed them to make it plain.) 

“ Now, as the ship was sailing along on this fine star- 
light night, and everything favorable, the Captain in his 
cabin felt a great jolt, then a s-scrape, and the ship leaned 


i6 


STAR PEOPLE 


away over, and everything that could slid down to one 
side. The next minute it tilted the other way, and most 
of them slid back again, and then the ship went on as 
before. 

“ The Captain jumped up and put his head out of the 
cabin window and looked fore and aft along the deck. He 
saw a man coming toward him, and called, very sharply, 
‘ Mr. Morgan wg ! ’ ^ 

“ It was the Mate of the Jane Ellen. He was young and 
big, and he had gray eyes and black hair and heavy black 
eyebrows that almost met over his eyes, and he could look 
very stern, but his eyes laughed ; and he could sing, and 
if he had had time, he could have played on a harp, be- 
cause he was a Welshman, and his name was Taffy. But 
he did n’t have time, because if you are mate of a ship 
like the Jane Ellen, you have a great deal to do, and have 
to be everywhere at once, to see that things are done as 
the Captain wants them. 

“ ‘ What was that ? ’ asked the Captain. 

“ ‘ We struck on Porpoise Rock, sir,’ said Taffy. 

“ ‘ Who ’s steering ? ’ 

Nelson.’ 

“ ‘ Well } — he knew the rock was there, did n’t he It ’s 

^ He called it “ Morgan*^?^^^,” but he was particular about the spelling. 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


17 

marked on his chart plain enough. There no excuse, a 
bright starlight night like this.* 

“‘Yes, he knew it,’ said the Mate, ‘but he says he 
did n’t make enough allowance for the stars moving. He 
says if there were one star, only, that he could depend 
on to be in the same place every night, it would be all 
right.’ 

“ ‘ Well, there is n’t,’ said the Captain. 

“ ‘ I know it,’ answered the Mate. ‘ But you know your- 
self, it ’s confusing to steer by them.’ Taffy spoke quite 
respectfully, but he often made suggestions to the Cap- 
tain when no one was listening, and the Captain loved 
him like his own son.” 

“ Do they move ? ” asked Pat. 

“Yes,” said Phyllisy. “Don’t you know.'’ — rise and 
set.” 

Pat looked at the Princess to see if that was what she 
meant, and she nodded, and went on : — 

“ ‘ H’m ! ’ said the Captain. ‘ You go and drop anchor 
right now. I won’t have any more paint scraped off from 
this ship. Then you come here and we’ll talk it over. 
Something ’s got to be done.’ 

“‘Very well, sir,’ said Taffy, touching his cap. And a 
few minutes later a great quivering and trembling went 


i8 


STAR PEOPLE 


through the ship as the anchor chains slid out ; and then 
they lay quiet, rocking gently on the waves, and every- 
body went to bed except the Lookout and the Captain 
and the Mate. 

No one knows just what was said in the Captain's 
cabin, or whether he or Taffy made the suggestion, but 
this is what happened : — 

“ The next morning, just before sunrise, the Mate 
stepped out of his cabin and walked for’ard. He leaned 
over the fo’c’s’le hatch, which stood open, and called, 
‘ Bos’n ! ’ 

“ ‘ Ay, ay, sir,’ answered the Bos’n from below. The 
next minute he stood beside Taffy on the deck. 

“ ‘ Assemble ships ! ’ ordered the Mate. 

“ ‘ Ay, ay, sir,’ said the Bos’n again. He had a whistle 
hanging from a string around his neck that he used for a 
signal to the sailors, but he did n’t use that now. Instead 
he took from a pocket inside his shirt another whistle. 
It was no larger than the first, but when he put it to his 
lips and blew, — the sound was so high and clear it 
seemed as if it must go all around the world ! And before 
very long, — just as if it had gone, and was broken up 
on the way, and was coming back in little pieces, — from 
every direction came a faint, thin little answering whistle. 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


19 


“ And then the Captain and the Mate and the second 
Mate and the four Quartermasters and the Bos’n and the 
sailors and the cook and the cabin boy — who were all on 
deck by this time — saw appearing, one by one, on the 
horizon, little specks, that as they came nearer, showed 
themselves to be ships of all descriptions, — schooners 
and brigs and barken tines and barks and frigates and 
luggers and full-rigged ships. And every time one of the 
little specks appeared the Lookout would call from the 
masthead, ‘ Sail ho ! ’ and the Captain would say, ‘ Where 
away?* and the Lookout would answer, ‘Two points on 
the weather-bow,* or wherever it happened to be. 

“ All the morning long, all these different kinds of ships 
tacked and jibed and went about and missed stays and 
luffed and beat to wind*ard, and in all these ways drew 
nearer and nearer, until, just as the Quartermaster made 
it seven bells, the last one of them hove to, and the Jane 
Ellen lay surrounded by fifty-two ships of every kind you 
ever saw, — but none so fine as she ! 

“ Then from the peak of the Jane Ellen fluttered a 
string of little flags, — red and yellow and white and 
green, — and the little flags said to the captains of the 
other ships, ‘Will you please come aboard the Jane 
Ellen ? * Then from every ship a boat put out, and was 


20 


STAR PEOPLE 


rowed to the side of the Jane Ellen, where a rope-ladder 
was let down to the water’s edge. Her Captain stood on 
the deck by the rail, with the Mate standing by, and shook 
hands with every captain as he came over the side, and 
said, ‘ I ’m glad to see you, sir ! ’ 

“ When they all had come aboard and were assembled on 
the hurricane deck the Captain made them a speech, 
while the Mate went and told the cook to ‘ look alive with 
lunch, to have it ready when the “ Old Man ” gets through 
with the powwow ! ’ 

“ This is the Captain’s speech : ‘ I suppose you wonder 
why I called you together? Perhaps you noticed a big 
mar on the Jane Ellen’s bows, where the good new paint 
is scraped off?’ All the other captains nodded. ‘That 
happened last night,’ said our Captain. ‘We ran on Por- 
poise Rock ; and my quartermaster. Nelson, said he ran 
a-foul of it because he did n’t make enough allowance for 
the stars moving. I ’ve got as good quartermasters as any 
ship afloat, but I know — you all know — that kind of 
thing happens to all of us.’ The captains nodded again. 
‘The trouble is n’t with the man at the wheel, it’s just 
here,’ — and the Captain struck the palm of one hand with 
the forefinger of the other several times, and they all 
looked at it to see what it was, — ‘ He has n’t the right 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


21 


kind of stars to steer by ! ’ The captains all looked up at 
the sky, and blinked, because it was just noon and the 
sun was very bright, and then looked at one another, and 
one of them said, ‘ What kind of stars could we have ? 
We Ve got all there are.’ 

“ ‘ Oh, these stars are all right, but they move about so ! 
Night after night they go ’round and around! A man is 
almost too old to take his trick at the wheel before he 
learns to make allowance for it. Now, we’ve been fair and 
honest, and we’ve steered by these stars — and sworn by 
them — as long as there have been ships and sailors, and 
the Star People ought to do something to help us out. 
So I propose to send some one to put it to them fairly, 
and see if they can't keep one star always in the same 
place. Then we could start from that, and know where 
we were.’ 

“ ‘ How are you going to get up there ? ’ asked the same 
captain who had spoken before. 

“‘We’ll show you after lunch,’ said the Captain of the 
Jane Ellen. ‘ That is, if you all agree } ’ 

“ The other captain asked, ‘ Do you all agree ? ’ and they 
all nodded. 

“ Then the other captain said, ‘ Three cheers for the 
Skipper! ’ and fifty-c>^^ captains shouted, ‘ Hurrah ! ’ three 


22 STAR PEOPLE 

times. So that was settled, and they went down to the 
cabin for lunch.” 

‘‘ What did they have ? ” asked the Kitten. 

“ Plum duff, — full of raisins,” said the Princess. 

“ Did they like it ? ” asked Pat. 

“You’d have thought so if you’d seen them. Every 
one took a second helping until Taffy was almost dis- 
couraged. He was in a hurry to be through. But at last 
they were finished and back on the deck to hear what the 
Captain had to propose. 

“‘Now,’ said the Captain, ‘we shall have to borrow 
your masts and some anchors.’ They nodded, and the 
Captain called; ‘ Mr. Morgan wg! You may set to work,* 

‘“ At once, sir,* said Taffy, and called, ‘ Bos’n ! * 

“ ‘ Ay, ay, sir,* said the Bos’n, running up. 

“ ‘ Call the men,’ ordered the Mate. 

“ The Bos’n blew his ordinary whistle, and at the same 
time the captains began to go over the side of the Jane 
Ellen to return to their own ships. They all looked very 
smiling and good-natured but one man, — the one who 
had n’t cheered. 

“ When it came his turn to say good-by, he just humped 
up his shoulder and growled, and then he turned around 
and said, very loud, ‘ The rest of you can do as you like. 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


23 

but I ’m blowed if you take my mainmast for any such 
foolishness !’ Then he went down the side of the ship and 
was rowed away. 

“ The captains who heard him looked perfectly disgusted, 
and Taffy said to his captain, ‘ Shall I attend to him, sir?* 
Yes ! * said the Captain, and they all nodded. 

So, before they did anything else, Taffy and the Bos*n 
and his men went to the rude Skipper’s ship (it was a brig- 
antine, the Wandering Willie), and they set all the sails, 
and tied the ropes in hard knots instead of just belaying 
them, as every one knows is seamanlike. Then they 
weighed the anchor, and got off as quickly as they could, 
— and off went the Wandering Willie! And it had gone 
only a little way when the wind changed, and the Skipper 
shouted in the roughest voice, ‘ Ease *er off I * And when 
the sailors tried, they could n’t untie the knots, and the 
ship keeled over, farther and farther, until, all at once, she 
turned bottom up, and every one had to swim back to the 
other ships I The crew were glad of it, because they were 
better off ; and the rude captain, who could n’t swim very 
well, had to be thankful to be pulled aboard and allowed 
to ship before the mast on the Jane Ellen. And he learned 
in time to be a very good sailor.” 

“ That was just right for him,” said Pat. 


24 


STAR PEOPLE 


“That’s what I think,” said the Princess. “But while 
all this was happening, the work was going on on all the 
ships. The first thing they did, they brought twenty- 
four large anchors, and anchored the Jane Ellen, twelve 
on a side and her own two at the bows, so she could n’t 
even wabble. Then they drew up all the other ships in a 
long line, one after another, with a space between, and un- 
stepped the mainmast of every ship. When every ship had 
her mainmast lying on the deck, beginning with the Jane 
Ellen, they spliced them all together, the top of one to the 
bottom of the next one. It took them all that afternoon 
and part of the next morning to do it. 

“ Meanwhile, other sailors had brought twenty mizzen- 
masts to the Jane Ellen, and, one after another, they were 
carried up her mizzen-mast and spliced to the top of 
the one below. When they were all in place some hoist- 
ing-tackle was made fast to the top, pulley-ropes were run 
through it and carried out over the other ships and fastened 
to the spliced mainmasts, about a third of their length away. 

“ By this time it was four bells in the afternoon, and 
everybody was pretty tired, so the Captain said they might 
rest for an hour, all except the cook, and he had to serve 
out grog. So all the seamen had their grog, and lay 
around on the deck and looked up at the tall mizzen-mast 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


25 


and the hoisting-tackle, and thought what a good captain 
they had, and that the Jane Ellen was the finest ship afloat. 

“ Six bells had hardly finished striking when the Mate 
jumped down from the rail where he had been sitting, and 
called, ‘ Bos^n ! * 

“ The Bos’n sprang up and said, ‘ Ay, ay, sir!* 

“ ‘ Pipe the men aft,* ordered the Mate. 

“ * Ay, ay, sir,* said the Bos*n again, and blew his whistle. 
“ The seamen all jumped up nimbly and came trooping 
aft to the foot of the mizzen-mast. There some of them 
brought a winch, and some more arranged the pulley- 
ropes and passed them around the winch, and carried 
them fore and aft, and arranged more tackle around the 
heel of the mainmast, and did a great many things to 
them that I don*t know anything about, but the Mate did, 
for he directed it all, without stopping even to think. 
And the Captain came and looked on, and he looked as 
proud as if he had done it himself I 

“At last everything seemed to be done, and Taffy 
asked, ‘ Are you all ready, Bos*n ? ’ 

‘“Just waiting for Tom Green to sing the chanty, sir,* 
said he. And in a minute, Tom Green came. 

“ He was n’t a very large sailor, but he had one blue 
and one brown eye, and red and blue anchors and ships 


26 


STAR PEOPLE 


and stars and a weeping-willow tattooed on his arms ; and 
he wore his sleeves rolled up high to show them. And he 
stood up on a water cask in the stern, and the sailors all 
stood ready, in long lines, with the ropes in their hands. 

“ Then the Mate said, ‘ Are you ready, Bos’n ? ’ and the 
Bos’n said, ‘ Ay, ay, sir ! ^ 

“ ‘ Then, hoist away ! ’ ordered the Mate. 

“ The Bos’n blew his whistle, and Tom Green began to 
sing the chanty, and this is how it began : — 

{Tom) “ We have left our happy home, 

On the ocean for to roam.” 

{Sailors) “ Yeo, ho ! Away we go ! 

Round the world and back again. — 

Yeo — heave -^^? ! ” 

{Toni) “ And our wives and sweethearts dear, 

May not see for more ^n a year.” 

{Sailors) “Fair winds! White sails flowing free, 

Blue water ’neath our keel, — 

That ’s the life for me 

The Princess laughed with her eyes at the Others, 
while she held the last long note until it seemed to die 
away in the woods, and they laughed back, but they 
did n’t speak, and she went on, quite seriously : — 


TOM GREEN’S CHANTY 


Tom. 


J J = 




“1 ^ 

" 1^1 ■" 

-1 — 

===| 




cJ 



=it=i= 



W e have left our hap - py home, On the o - cean for to roam. 


Refrain. 

Sailors. 


r# 


— ^ V- 

r1 — hr 

^ — 


^ 

fv— 

^ h 


5 


j 




•1 




m • i' 

w w 




i' i' i' ' 






d- ■ ■ 





Yeo - hoi A - way we gol Round the world and back a - gain, 


Tom. 



-t5> 

^ 





^ 1 - 








Yeo, heave hoi And our wives and sweet-hearts dear May not 



see for more ’n a year. Fair winds, white sails flow-ing free, 


rail. 



0i 

ft 




/TN 



ft 

11 

1 1 

n 








I 

^ ri 

J 



tt 

J 




T 




J 

/ 

— ^ IJ 

fr 

1 

# 

' J 



i 



J 

iL e_? 

^ 

_J_ IJ 


/ ■# 







—t U 


Blue wa - ter ’neath our keel, That ’s the life for me I 



THE SAILOR’S STAR 


27 


“ I give you only one verse of it, but there were ninety- 
three, and it told all about their life on the ocean wave 
and what they wanted to do, and Tom Green made most 
of it up as he went along, — so perhaps he worked as 
hard as any of them ! 

“ Now, every time when they sung the refrain, the 
sailors all pulled together on the ropes, and little by little 
— inch by inch, almost — the great long mainmast rose 
in the air. And on all the other ships the sailors stood 
watching, because they had nothing else to do, and they 
all joined in the chanty, and the sound of it mounted up 
through the clouds. There never was a chanty like it 
since the world began ! 

“ It had been bright, sunshiny weather when the work 
began, but all the afternoon the clouds had gathered until 
the sky was completely overcast, like a solid roof of gray, 
and when the mast rose up, about one quarter of it pierced 
the clouds. At last it stood, straight and tall, the heel 
firmly fixed on the step above the deck of the Jane Ellen, 
and the top hidden from sight in the cloud roof, and a 
shout went up that must have reached the heavens ! 
Then everybody drew a long breath, and went to rest, and 
waited for it to be quite dark.” 

The Princess paused. “ Perhaps you, yourselves, would 


28 


STAR PEOPLE 


like to stop and hear the rest another time ? she sug- 
gested. But they were sure they would n’t. So, after only 
a moment, while Pat changed to another place, she went 
on: — 

“ When it was time, and every one was on deck (the 
other captains had come aboard again), the Captain of the 
Jane Ellen looked up at the great tall mast, going up and 
up until it went out of sight in the clouds, and he said to 
the other captains, ‘ Whom shall I send up to talk to the 
Star People ? ’ And the other captains said, very decidedly, 
‘ You’ll have to send an able seaman.’ 

“So the Bos’n picked out the very best able seaman 
there was, and he stepped out before the captains. He 
swayed his body when he walked, and hitched up his 
trousers, and he could dance a hornpipe better than any 
man aboard, and wrap his leg four times around a rope 
when he climbed. He was just the man to climb to the 
top of that great tall mast. 

“The Captain looked at the Able Seaman, and said, 
‘You go aloft there; and when you get to the top, you 
tell the Star People you want to talk to their captain. Do 
you understand ? ’ 

“ The Able Seaman pulled his forelock and said, ‘ Ay, 
ay, sir,’ and the Captain went on : ‘You tell him, we want 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


29 


one star that we can depend on, to steer by. We’ve 
steered by them ever since there were ships, and they 
move about all the time, and we can’t stand it any 
longer! We’ve done the fair thing by them, and now 
they can do the fair thing by us, or by Jiminy! we’ll 
throw the whole lot of ’em over, and they ’ll be out of a 
job I — Do you understand } ’ 

“ The Able Seaman pulled his forelock and said, ‘ Ay, 
ay, sir.* 

“ * Then, up you go 1 ’ and the Able Seaman turned 
away and came to the foot of the great tall mast. 

“ There were two ropes that ran from the top to the 
bottom. He wound his leg four times around one of them, 
and took hold of the other and began to climb. And 
everybody watched him go up and up, and grow smaller 
and smaller until he wasn’t nearly so large as a fly. 
And then he went clear out of sight in the clouds. And 
they could n’t have seen him at all, any of the way, if they 
had n’t thrown a strong light on him as he went up. 

“ Then — though there was nothing to see, and their 
necks ached — nobody could take his eyes from the spot 
where he disappeared. And before very long they saw a 
little speck, smaller than a fly, appear again and come 
down the great tall mast, — so tall it took thirty-eight 


30 


STAR PEOPLE 


minutes to come down from the place where it entered 
the cloud. The captains hardly could wait for him to get 
down. 

“ ‘ What did you find ? ’ asked the Captain. 

“ ‘ A lot of Star People — I dunno who they was,’ an- 
swered the Able Seaman. 

“ ‘ Well, — what did they say ? ’ 

“ ‘ They wanted to know what that singin’ was, this 
afternoon.’ 

“ ‘ But what did they say about the star? ’ 

“ ‘ I did n’t ask ’em.’ 

“ ‘ Did n’t ask them ! ’ 

‘“No. I come back to ask what to say about the 
singin’. You did n’t tell me that.* 

Thunder!^ said the Captain. ‘Did you come clear 
down here to ask me that? You get back, as quick as 
ever you can, and tell them what I said. Of course 
you ’re to answer a civil question ! ’ 

“ ‘ Ay, ay, sir,’ said the Able Seaman without winking ; 
and he climbed up the mast again. And all the captains 
watched him as before, only their necks ached a little 
harder. 

“ He was gone a trifle longer, and then back he came. 
It only took thirty-six minutes this time, because he was 



EVERYBODY WATCHED HIM GO UP AND UP 


\ 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


31 

more used to it (beside the time it took to go up, of course, 
and the time he was above the clouds). 

“ ‘ Well ? ’ said the Captain. 

“ ‘ I tor 'em it was the chanty. And I asked to speak 
to the captain, an' a big man said they had n't no captain, 

— they 're a Republic.' 

“ ‘ Then what ? ' asked the Captain, as the Able Seaman 
paused. 

“ ‘ Then, I did n't know who to ask for, — so I — ' 

“ ‘ Thunder-ahon / ' cried the Captain. ‘ Did you come 
clear down here again, to ask me You go back — 

quick — and don't you come down again till you finish 
your errand ! ' And the Able Seaman said, ‘ Ay, ay, sir,' 

— and all the other captains looked at each other and said, 
‘ Thunderation ! ' or some other word that meant the 
same thing. 

“ Then the Able Seaman climbed up the mast again, 
and nearly all of them watched him. But some of the cap- 
tains who had short necks could n't watch another minute, 
until one of them lay down on his back on the deck; 
then a good many of them did the same thing, and were 
more comfortable. 

“ And this time he was gone a long time — so long, the 
Captain was just going to send up the second-best able 


32 


STAR PEOPLE 


seaman to see what was the matter, when they saw him 
coming down. It took a little longer, because the leg of 
his trousers caught in the third twist of the rope, and he 
had to unwrap his leg and twist it around again. It took 
forty-one minutes this time, and it seemed forever to 
the captains ! Three or four of them waited at the foot of 
the mast, and caught at him as he slid down. 

“ ‘ What did they say ? ’ — ‘ Will they do it ? ’ — they 
asked eagerly. 

“The Able Seaman breathed hard. ‘You wait a min- 
ute — till I get — my breath.* 

“They waited. Finally the Captain said: ‘Now.?’ and 
the Able Seaman pulled his forelock and said : ‘ I tol’ 
’em, sir, — just as you said, — an’ they all talked an’ 
talked—’ 

“ ‘ Who talked ? ’ asked the Captain. 

“‘ I dunno their names. I ain’t no navigator. — There 
was the big man, an’ a woman sittin’ in a chair, an’ an- 
other man, and a feller with a head in his hand — all 
snakes ! — an’ a big dragon kep’ pokin’ his blame head 
in all the time, — an’ some more people; an’ they all 
talked to onc’t.* 

“ ‘ What did they say ? Will they give us the star .? ’ 

“ ‘ I can’t make out,’ said the Able Seaman. ‘ I guess 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


33 

they was willing but they did n't seem to know what to do, 
and they was quarrelin’ about who 'd do it.' 

“ The Captain looked around. * Mr. Morgan wg ! ' he 
said. (The Mate was there almost before he spoke.) * It 's 
no use. You'll have to go.' 

“ ‘ Certainly, sir,' said Taffy, and his eyes shone when 
he said it, and he turned and walked to the foot of the 
mast. 

“ He weighed two hundred and eleven pounds, but he 
walked so lightly his feet seemed hardly to touch the 
deck ; and when he sprang into the ropes and began to 
go up the mast, he made the Able Seaman look like an 
apprentice ! And the captains all stood and watched him, 
and they were so pleased and so sure it would be all 
right, their necks almost forgot to ache." 

“ He wanted to go," said Phyllisy, when the Princess 
paused. 

“ He 'd better have gone before, and saved all that 
time," observed Pat. 

But the Princess said nothing for a moment. Then she 
went on with the story: “Up and up climbed Taffy, 
higher and higher, until it seemed to him a thick cloud 
came down and wrapped him about so he could see only 
a few feet ahead of him. But he knew it did n’t come 


34 


STAR PEOPLE 


down at all. It was he who had climbed up into the 
clouds. So he kept steadily on, and very soon it began to 
grow thin ; and as he came out of it he saw a sight that 
almost took his breath away, and made him lose his hold 
of the rope. But he would n’t even look, but kept climb- 
ing on until he reached the top of the fifty-second mast, 
and with one leg wrapped easily around one rope, and 
his elbow resting on the gilt ball on the top of the mast, 
and his chin in his hand, he was as comfortable as a boy 
in an apple tree. Now he had time to look about him, — 
and he could take it, for the Star People were so busy 
talking among themselves they had n’t seen him come. 

“Two persons seemed to be the centre of the group. 
One was a tall, splendid man with a sword on his belt and 
a shaggy lion’s hide hanging carelessly over his arm. Set in 
his belt and on his head and in the clasp around his knee 
were great blazing stars, and two dogs were at his heels.” 

“ Orion,” said Phyllisy, “ I used to know him ages ago.” 

The Princess nodded: “Yes. Taffy knew him at 
once. — The person to whom he was talking was a beau- 
tiful lady (not so very young), who sat in a massive, star- 
jeweled chair, and was alternately crying and scolding, 
while a man, evidently her husband, leaned over the chair 
and tried to quiet her. Near by stood a young man, look- 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


35 


ing very sulky ; and from his hand swung a curious ob- 
ject. It was a woman’s head, with snakes instead of hair.” 

Snakes said Pat, her voice sliding up and down on it. 

“ Snakesl^ said the Princess, firmly. 

“For pitysakes!” 

“ They had once been quite stiff and wriggly snakes, 
and had stood up on end, each one of them, and squirmed, 
but now they were limp and raggy. And Taffy did n’t 
wonder when he saw how Perseus was absent-mindedly 
swinging it by one or another of the snakes, and letting 
it wind up and unwind again around his finger. 

“ Like Orion and his dogs, these people and others who 
crowded near were studded and decked with shining stars; 
and it was by their stars, that he knew so well, that Taffy 
recognized these Star People in their unaccustomed places. 

“‘Yes, I could/' the lady in the chair was saying. 
‘ And he is n’t the one to say, anyway ! ’ 

“‘What’s the matter.?’ asked Taffy; and they all 
jumped, and then all began talking at once, so he could n’t 
understand a word they said. 

“ ‘ Hus-sh ! ’ he said, holding up his hand. And they 
gradually stopped talking, all but Orion. (And Cassiopeia 
kept on saying things to her husband — but that did n’t 
count.) 


3 ^ 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ ‘ Who are you ? ’ asked Orion. 

“‘I’m the Mate of the Jane Ellen/ said Taffy. ‘ And I 
want to know what ’s the trouble. It does n’t seem much 
to ask for — just one star.’ 

“ ‘ No/ answered Orion, ‘it does n’t. And we ’re all will- 
ing. But who is going to hold that star ? — and how are 
we going to know it ’s always in the same spot ? ’ 

“ ‘ I should think you might agree about that easily 
enough,’ said Taffy. 

“‘Well, we can’t/ said Orion. ‘I can’t do it; I have 
other things to attend to.’ 

“ ‘ And you won’t let any one else ! ’ broke in Cassio- 
peia. ‘You know how I just sit in my chair, and I ’d love 
to hold it.’ 

“ ‘ She can’t,’ said Orion. ‘ Pretty thing for a woman 
to do ! ’ 

“‘I’m not a woman,’ observed Perseus. 

“ ‘ Don’t you say another word! ’ said Cassiopeia. (‘And 
stop twirling that Gorgon! — You make me nervous.) You 
know perfectly well, you have to keep away the monster 
from my darling child.’ 

“ Perseus said no more, but he looked sulkier than ever. 

“‘No, he can’t/ said Orion. ‘And beside that, you’re 
used to seeing us move about. Now if one of us gives up 
his own place, it will mix you all up.’ 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


37 

“ ‘ That ’s true,’ said Taffy. And just as he spoke, some- 
thing rubbed against his hand, — something that sent a 
little prickly shock through him at first, and at the same 
time, the very softest thing he ever had felt or imagined. 

“ He looked down and saw a little bear — but such a 
little bear ! His long fur was, in color, a beautiful blue- 
gray, and the tip of each hair seemed to have been dipped 
in moonlight or powdered with star-dust, for it shone and 
glinted in the starlight as he moved ; and his eyes twinkled 
like two little stars themselves; and curiously enough 
for a little bear, he had a great long tail. And unlike any 
of the Star People, he had n’t a star on him anywhere. 

“‘Hello, little one!’ said Taffy. ‘What are you doing 
here.^’ And he bent down to stroke Little Bear. Little 
Bear leaned against his leg ; and as his hand sank in the 
soft, soft fur, and again the electric tingles ran up his arm, 
it was as if they took the message to his brain : ‘ Oh, dear 
Taffy, let me take care of the Sailor’s Star 1 ’ 

“ It came so clearly to him, Taffy spoke again: ‘Would 
you really like it ? ’ — and the answer came, like a long, 
‘ Oh-h 1 ’ of rapture. 

“ ‘ See here,’ said Taffy to the Star People. ‘ Why don’t 
you let this little chap have it? That would settle it’ 

“ ‘ Little Bear?’ said everybody. Then everybody looked 


STAR PEOPLE 


38 

at everybody else, and said, ‘ Why not ? ^ — because they 
all loved Little Bear ; and they were glad to find a way to 
settle the dispute and stop talking. 

“ Taffy told them what to do; and Cassiopeia was the 
first one to take a lovely star from the back of her dress, 
where it never had been seen by the sailors and would n’t 
be missed ; and they all agreed that, if she could n’t hold 
the Sailor’s Star herself, she should be the one to give it. 
And they fastened that star on the very tip of Little 
Bear’s tail. Then Orion and Perseus and the Big Dragon, 
who came and looked on, and the rest of them gave more 
stars to fasten on Little Bear, and he stood pressed against 
Taffy’s knee while they did it ; and his fur sparkled and 
shone and his two bright eyes twinkled, bright as any of 
the stars, while little electric thrills of pleasure and grati- 
tude ran to Taffy’s heart as his hand stroked the beauti- 
ful fur that was softer than anything in the whole World ! 

“ ‘ There ! ’ said Orion, as he fastened the last star and 
pushed one of the dogs back with his foot, while Little 
Bear growled, a soft small growl. ‘ He ’s fine as a birth- 
day cake ! Now I want to know how you are going to be 
sure that star is always in the right place .f*’ 

“‘Easy enough!’ said Taffy. ‘You know where the 
North Pole is, don’t you 












THE SAILOR^S STAR 


39 

“‘Of course we do/ said Orion, and the other Star 
People echoed : ‘ Of course ! * 

“ ‘ Then, all Little Bear has to do is to keep the star 
directly over that Pole. And he ’ll do it/ said Taffy, laying 
his hand on Little Bear’s head — and the message thrilled 
through it: ‘Oh, I will, dear Taffy! The Sailor’s Star 
shall never wander I ’ 

“When the Mate stepped on to the deck of the Jane 
Ellen it was almost morning, and all the captains who 
were n’t asleep had such stiff necks they hardly could turn 
their heads to look at him. And when he touched his 
cap and said to the Captain of the Jane Ellen: ‘ It’s all 
arranged, sir/ they were so worn out they were glad to go 
back to their own ships and go to bed without asking a 
single question. It would n’t have been any use if they 
had, for the Captain took Taffy straight into his own 
cabin and shut the door; and that was the last any one 
saw of them that night. 

“ The next morning every one was as busy as a bee ; and 
they worked so fast that before evening every mast had 
been put back, and the twenty-four anchors returned to 
their own ships, and they were all ready to sail. 

“ During the afternoon the clouds had broken up, and 
the sun went down in a clear sky. As darkness fell, the 


40 


STAR PEOPLE 


crew of each ship assembled on the deck, with every eye 
fixed on the Northern sky. 

“ Taffy stood beside the Captain of the Jane Ellen while 
the rose-red faded into yellow, and palest green, and violet, 
and a few large stars came out, one by one. Then, — faint 
at first, then, brighter and brighter, — the stars that told 
Taffy Little Bear was at his post ! And a great shout 
went up from all the ships, that must have reached the 
sky! It seemed to Taffy that the stars glowed brighter, 
and he could almost feel the touch of soft fur, softer than 
anything in the world, and a little thrill went to his heart, 
that said : ‘ You see, Taffy dear, I ’m here I ’ 

“ Then the fifty-two ships set sail in every direction, 
and the Jane Ellen was alone once more. And all night 
long, as she went on her way, whenever Taffy looked up 
at the Northern sky, the Sailor’s Star hung over the Pole. 
But Little Bear swung slowly, slowly around it, watching, 
watching the ships that were sailing to all quarters of the 
world. And on every ship the sailors said : — 

“ ‘ God bless the Little Bear 1 ’ ” 

As the Princess came to the end the children grew 
very still. When she had spoken the last word no one 
stirred for a moment. Then they all stirred at once. The 


THE SAILOR’S STAR 


41 


Kitten slid off from her big chair and came straight across 
to sit on the Princess’s silken knee, and the Others with 
her, to crowd as close as they could, — to talk about it 
and ask all the questions they had saved for the end, not 
to interrupt the story. And they had a great deal to say, 
and had saved a great many questions. 

“You did understand, didn’t you. Kitten said the 
Princess. “ I knew you would.” 

The Kitten nodded, and wriggled on the Princess’s 
knee. “ Could you feel it prickle ? ” she asked. 

“ ‘ Little thrills,’ she means,” Phyllisy suggested. 

“ Um-m,” said the Kitten. “ That night — you said he 
brought a message.” 

“ But you were asleep,” said the Princess. 

“ I heard. Would it hurt } ” 

“ No, indeed! It was a little warm thrill that went to 
my heart.” 

“ The same as Taffy,” said Pat. 

“ Just the same,” said the Princess. 

Then Miss Phyllisy brought her the rosy hat, and she 
pinned it on ; for there were long shadows across the slop- 
ing lawn and the petunia bed ; only the high steps down 
the terrace were still in the sun. 


/ 


III 

THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 



did they fasten the stars on 
him ? ” asked the Kitten. She 
did n’t say who “ he ” was, but 
they knew, though it was quite 
another time. 

‘ With a half-hitch and another 
half-hitch, then belay,” said the 
Princess, promptly. “ Much better than sewing them, or 
pins. Don’t you think so ? ” 

“ Pins would stick him,” agreed the Kitten. 

“ Whereabouts did they fasten them.?” asked Pat. 

The Princess reached out her arm and picked a narrow 
pointed shell out from the hard sand. It lay broad and 
brown between them and the gray sea, worrying, white- 


THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 43 

and-green at the other edge. Out over the sea whitish- 
gray fog was waiting all around in a circle. It went up and 
joined the gray sky over ; and a salt smell blew out of it. 

She began to draw in the sand with the pointed shell, 
and the Others watched it grow. She began at his head 
and worked back, quickly. 

“ Is it going to be Little Bear.f^ ” asked Pat. 

“ Yes,” said the Princess. “ But I can’t make it really a 
likeness.” 

“ You could. Dearie, if you had a pencil and paper,” 
said Phyllisy. “ Nobody could, in the sand with a shell.” 

“It ’s like him the way the map is America,” said Pat. 
“ More — muchr 

“ Now make the stars,” said the Kitten, when she drew 
his last foot. 

“ No,” said the Princess. “ You must do that. — Who’ll 
give a star to Little Bear ? ” 

“ What shall we give } ” asked Pat. But the Kitten 
spied a clear, shiny pebble, and she did n’t need to be told; 
she pounced at it quickly, and purred when the Princess 
took it from her. 

“ ‘ And they fastened that star on the very tip of Little 
Bear’s tail,’ ” quoted Phyllisy. “ Now we must all give stars.” 

So they scurried over the sand and brought suitable 


44 


STAR PEOPLE 


pebbles to the Princess, — and some of them were shells, 
— and she showed them where to place them, where he 
truly wore them ; but they placed only the principal ones, 
because it was a sketch, not a likeness. 

“ But you don’t see even this — of a bear — in the 
sky ? ” said Pat, doubtfully. It was n’t as easy for her to 
make believe as it was for Phyllisy. Phyllisy loved it. As 
for the Kitten, it was no trouble for her ; real or make- 
believe, it was all alike. 

“ No, indeed,” said Phyllisy, explaining to Pat, and per- 
fectly familiar with it. “Just the stars of him, and play 
the rest. When it ’s night, we ’ll look, and see if we can 
find them ourselves.” 

“You can’t when it’s cloudy,” said Pat. “And it’s 
cloudy to-night — will be.” 

“ And the Star People will have a holiday,” said the 
Princess. 

“ Will they ? ” asked the Others, though she had just 
said it. 

“Sure as sure. When it’s a cloudy night and the sail- 
ors could n’t see them wherever they were, they may go 
where they like.” 

“ They might go where they like in the daytime,” said 
the Kitten. 


THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 45 

“ So they might. But you have to sleep some time, Kit. 
And if you have to stay up all night to be looked at, 
you ’d better take a long nap in the daytime. So, when it 
begins to be light, the Star People just quietly fade away 
in their places, then when night comes they wake up, 
fresh as daisies.” 

“ Suppose some time they would go off, and it was a 
clear night — and they moved around ? ” said Pat. 

“ I could n’t imagine anything so dreadful, — nor the 
Star People, either ! Don’t you fancy, because they 
have n’t any captain, that they have nothing to obey.” 

“ What.?” 

“ They have Law f — and that ’s something every one 
of them obeys without a single word, or ever stopping to 
argue. When anything is the Rule of the Sky, that ends 
it. — Unless you ’re a comet.” 

“ Oh, comets ! ” exclaimed Phyllisy. “ What do they 
do?” 

“ What don’t they do ? ” corrected the Princess. “They ’re 
silly. Just a head, with the wildest, fuzziliest hair,” — she 
drew on the sand as she talked, — “that never saw a hair- 
brush — and tails ! — switching and flying and spreading 
over everything and curling around ! — and, as if one such 
tail were n’t bad enough, some of them must have two ! ” 


46 


STAR PEOPLE 


The Princess stopped drawing, because the sand was 
filled up with comets, as far as she could reach. “ That 
one is like the Kitten,” said Pat. “Yours would be, if it 
were n’t braided,” the Kitten answered. 

“ Only in looks, I ’m sure,” said the Princess, politely. 
“ The Star People try to be charitable, and when they 
hear of some fresh bad thing one of those flyaways has 
done, they say: ‘ He does n’t know enough to be good;’ 
and they don’t talk about it any more. But when any 
really horrid mischief is done, it ’s always when a comet 
or two has been around.” 

“ What did one do ? — some mischief,” Pat suggested. 

“ I should think you ’d all rather hear about somebody 
good,” said the Princess. But the Others giggled — and 
would n’t. 

“ Make some more Star People while you consider. 
Dearie,” urged Phyllisy. 

So the Princess moved along the sand (and they were 
glad it was a good, gray day, not glaring), and she drew 
more, the same way as Little Bear. They did n’t try to be 
likenesses, but you would know whom they were meant 
for, — Cassiopeia and the Dragon and Orion and more, 
— and the Others put in the stars. It used a great many 
pebbles and shells, though they put in only the principal 


DRACO 


** This is the way Draco looked, guarding the Golden Fleece, except his ex- 
pression. He had to look fierce then, but he always had a sweet nature. — 
You ’ll observe that he has no teeth. He did have, but Jason took them. He 
threw the magic drops straight into Draco’s jaws when they were gaping open to 
swallow him, and the Dragon went so immediately to sleep that he had n’t even 
time to close his mouth. Then Jason took, not only the fleece, but his teeth; 
because he always liked to have a few dragon’s teeth in his pocket. He had 
used them before, for a Bewitchment, and he never knew when he might need 
them. — Very few people know about this, but it’s just as true as the part they 
do know.” The Princess spoke severely, but the Others giggled. 

They thought Draco ought to have stars on his tail, but she said his wings 
folded back over most of it when they weren’t set up. Hercules gave him the 
small star on his nose, because he had a great many, and Draco needed that one 
to make him symmetrical. 


THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 47 

ones. But they ought to be pretty ones, so they went a 
good way off to find them. 

When they came back from farther off, they could n’t 
guess what the long wavy line was meant for, that she 
was drawing beyond Orion — in deep loops down and 
back. 

“ This is the Starland River,” she explained. “ The 
Ancients called it the Eridanus. That was the name of 
one of their own Earth rivers. Once Phaeton tried to 
drive the chariot of the Sun, — the Sun God was his 
father, — but he did n’t know how, and horses, chariot, 
and all plunged into the river, and he was drowned for his 
folly, but the chariot and horses came out shining again 
the next morning at sunrise. And Phaeton’s three sisters 
stood on the bank of the river and mourned and mourned 
for him, and wouldn’t go away. So Jupiter kindly changed 
them into poplar trees ; — and right here — and here — 
and here ” — she showed the places and the Others laid 
especial shells — “ are the stars that mark the tall poplars 
on the bank. At least, that’s what I think. You may 
choose others if you like, but they are certainly there.” 

The Princess surprisingly sprang up, and the pointed 
shell flew out of her hand, over the hard sand, and beyond 
the worrying green-white edge, into the gray sea. 


48 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ What did you do that for ? Pat remonstrated. 

“ Because-that-was-a-sign-that-it-would n’t-be-lucky-to- 
have - any - m ore-drawing - on - the - sand - because - that - was - 
Enough/’ said the Princess. 

“ Will you tell it now asked the Kitten. 

And she would ; but back under the cliff, where there 
were rocks — smooth and hollowed by the ocean, long 
ago, and another one for a back, — and where those crazy 
comets on the sand would n’t be looking at them. 

“You hardly would believe how happy the care of the 
Sailor’s Star made Little Bear,” said the Princess, when 
they were all comfortable, — “ proud of his responsibility, 
and most grateful to the Star People.” 

“ Because they gave him stars ? ” asked the Kitten. 

“ Yes, and allowed him to have that responsible thing 
to do when he wanted it so much ; and it made them 
happy to see his pleasure, and to feel that they all had a 
share in it — because he was their own dear Little Bear. 
Now, at the time this story happened, everything had been 
comfortable and pleasant for a long time. Little Bear 
had n’t had his star so long he had forgotten the time 
before he had it ; but he had grown used to having it on 
the end of his tail, and could keep it over the Pole with- 


THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 49 

out giving his mind to it. And nobody had seen a comet 
for ever so long, so they were n’t thinking about them. 

“ But, very early one morning, any one of the Star Peo- 
ple who had been awake to look, might have seen, peep- 
ing up over the rim of the Sky, a small, vagabond head. 
He shook his fuzzy hair out of his eyes and came up a 
little farther, switching his long tail that had a wicked 
crook at the end of it, as he danced up and down like an 
elf ! A more rascally Comet you would n’t care to see ! ” 

The Others wriggled with appreciation, but they did n’t 
speak, to interrupt. 

“ The Star People were in their first sleep, and not 
dreaming of any harm ; and what a chance for the worst, 
small comet in the Sky ! 

“What should he do? Hammer a dent in Cepheus’ 
crown ? Tie a knot in the Dragon’s tail ? He darted here 
and there, — rapid, uncertain little darts ; nothing seemed 
quite worth while when he had such an opportunity. 

“ Cassiopeia stirred slightly in her chair, and the wicked 
imp dropped where he was, and wound himself all up, like 
a porcupine, holding himself together by the crook in his 
tail. You never would have guessed that he could tuck 
all his wild hair and streaming tail into a little round 
bunch, as quick as a flash ! But she did n’t wake up, so he 


50 


STAR PEOPLE 


let himself go, and his hair and tail sprang out like a 
jack-in-the-box; and now he danced harder than ever, for 
rage ! 

“ How he did hate Cassiopeia ! He remembered how 
she had boxed his ears when he had come that way before, 
and he would rather do something to plague her than any- 
thing else. He looked about him, and saw Little Bear, 
fast asleep — never dreaming of any harm, — and he 
stopped short in his dance. He knew, now, what he could 
do; but, wicked little Comet as he was, he was almost 
frightened. This was much worse than anything any of 
them ever had done. But how it would plague Cassio- 
peia ! — and set the whole sky by the ears. He puckered 
up his face and stuck out his tongue at her.” 

“ And she could n’t see him,” Pat murmured. 

Then there was a whizz, — a switch of a long tail with 
a crook in the end of it, — a zigzag streak of light across 
the morning sky — and the Comet was gone ! 

“And the Star People were all sound asleep, and never 
dreamed he had been there. 

“ Oh, dear ! It seemed almost a pity Little Bear had to 
wake up at all, with such trouble waiting for him. But the 
time had to come, and he stirred a little and opened one 
eye, and shut it again and rolled on to his side. There he 


/ 



A MORE RASCALLY COMET YOU WOULD N’T CARE TO SEE 





THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 51 

lay for a minute ; then he gave a soft sneeze that waked 
him up altogether. So he opened his eyes, that twinkled 
like stars, and looked about him. Every one else was still 
sleeping, and that seemed like wasting time, because it 
was a cloudy night, which meant a holiday. So Little 
Bear stood up and shook himself, and sparks seemed to 
fly from his fur, and then — his heart gave a great jump, 
and almost stopped beating! — The Sailor’s Star was 
gone! 

“ It was such a blow he could hardly see, and he sat 
down, quite dazed. 

“ In a few minutes Cassiopeia opened her eyes. Now, 
Little Bear felt as if he could n’t stand it to have any one 
know what had happened to him. But the minute he saw 
Cassiopeia was awake, though it was the last thing he 
meant to do, and before he knew what he was about, he 
had run to her and put his head in her lap ; and she knew 
in a second something was wrong. 

“ ‘ Why, Little Bear, what is it ? ’ she began to say — 
then she saw — and such an outcry ! Everybody awoke, 
and the next minute, everybody was searching in every 
possible and impossible place ; — all but Little Bear. He 
was too miserable to do anything but sit still, and wish 
the clouds would rise up and cover him all over.” 


52 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ Poor little soul ! ” said Phyllisy, and the Others crooned 
in sympathy, the Princess with them. Then she went 
on : — 

“ ‘ It ’s no use. It is n’t here,’ said Cepheus, who had 
been down on his hands and knees, looking, just as hard 
as if he had n’t been a king. (He tucked his sceptre under 
his arm while he was looking, except when he poked with 
it in a corner.) As he spoke, he stood up and straightened 
out the ‘ crick ’ in his back, and the others took it for a 
signal to stop the search. 

“ Cassiopeia had stopped some time before, without any 
signal, and sat in her chair, with Little Bear leaning 
against her knee again. 

‘“No, I didn’t think it was any use,’ she said, signifi- 
cantly. ‘ That star did n’t go without hands, — or claws ! ’ 
— and she looked straight at Draco, who stood every 
night before Little Bear, to guard him, looking very ter- 
rible, though he had n’t a tooth in his head. But no one 
would know that unless he spoke, and he had been hunt- 
ing for the star as hard as any of them. 

“‘Doeth thhe mean me?* he asked, in surprise. (He 
lisped a little, on account of having no teeth.) Then, in- 
dignantly : ‘ I thould think you ’d be athamed ! — I believe 
you took it back yourthelf ! — Indian-giver ! ’ 


THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 53 

“ Cassiopeia’s hand flew to the back of her dress where 
the star had been, and she began hotly: ‘ The idea — ’ 

“ ‘ There, there,’ said Cepheus, soothingly, while Little 
Bear stirred uneasily, ‘don’t quarrel! It’s bad enough 
without that.’ 

“ ‘ Maybe he did n’t take it himself I said Cassiopeia. 
‘ But it ’s a very poor watch he kept. And this is n’t the 
first time something has been lost while he was asleep!’ 

“ ‘ Shame on you ! ’ cried Cepheus. (And it was mean 
in her to call up the time when he lost the Golden Fleece.) 

“‘Don’t mind her,’ said Perseus to Draco. ‘She 
does n’t mean anything.’ 

“ ‘ I don’t think Cathiopeia liketh me very well,’ said 
Draco, almost crying. ‘ I can’t thtay awake all day. I 
alwayth did need a great deal of thleep.’ 

“‘Well, let’s not talk about it any more,’ said Cassi- 
opeia, impatiently. ‘We’d better be doing something! 
It’s a good thing it’s so cloudy. I’ll tell you what you 
do,’ she went on, turning to Cepheus. ‘ You go straight to 
Boreas, and tell him he must n’t blow away one scrap of 
cloud until we find that star.’ Boreas had a great conch 
shell, like a trumpet, and when he shouted his orders 
through it, the clouds flew before the sound — just as he 
told them to go.” 


54 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ The North Wind,” said Pat “ I ’ve heard about him. 
He lived in a cave.” 

The Princess nodded. “ ‘ I don’t think it looks very well 
for me to be running errands,’ said Cepheus. 

“ ‘ Looks or no looks, you go along,’ said Cassiopeia. 
‘ I ’m going on one myself.’ 

“ When Orion waked up that night he was pleased to 
see the clouds, because there was something he wanted 
to do. Every one knows he was a famous hunter; and 
there was no animal so fierce or so wild that he could not 
face it and conquer it. But that was not what he prided 
himself upon. What he liked to do, more than anything, 
and what he thought was his special talent, was gar- 
dening! 

“He had his garden on the Milky Way, where he was 
forever planting things, and digging them up again to 
look at the roots, and transplanting them to see if they 
would n’t do better somewhere else, and pruning them 
and training them and spraying them ; and the only rest 
and chance to grow those poor things had was when there 
was a long spell of clear weather, and Orion had to leave 
them alone I And with all his care, there was n’t a place 
on the whole Milky Way that had so many bare spots in 
it as Orion’s garden I ” 


THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 55 

“ Like mine,” observed Pat. 

“Now, he had some young meteors just coming up ; so, 
as soon as he was awake, he called his two dogs and set 
out for his garden. He was down on his knees examining 
the young plants, when the dogs began to bark. He looked 
up, and he was astonished to see Cassiopeia hurrying 
toward him. 

I knew where I should find you!’ she called, breath- 
ing hard. (She was n’t exactly thin.) 

“‘What over the Sun brings you here.'” exclaimed 
Orion. 

“ ‘ Somebody ’s stolen the Pole Star I ’ 

“ ‘ No I ’ cried he. 

“‘Yes, they have. While we were asleep. It was there, 
all right, when Little Bear went to sleep, and when he 
waked up, it was gone.’ 

“ Orion scowled fearfully. ‘ There ’s just one Star Person 
who would do such a thing — ’ he began. 

Cassiopeia interrupted him : — 

“ ‘ Now that ’s all nonsense I Just because you hate the 
Scorpion, is no sign he would steal. You’d better come 
along with me, and we ’ll have a meeting to see what to do.’ 

“ As Cassiopeia and Orion were coming back together, 
they met Cepheus, returning from his errand. 


56 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ ‘ Did you see Boreas ? ^ called she. 

“‘Yes/ answered Cepheus, pushing up his crown. (It 
did n’t fit very well, and was always slipping down.) ‘ He 
says he ’ll do the best he can ; but he can’t promise more 
than two days.’ 

“‘Oh, we’ll find it before then,’ said Orion, confidently. 

“ But before the two days were gone he began to feel 
very differently, and so did every one else. They talked 
and they talked, and suggested and consulted, and hunted, 
and went back and hunted again and again in all the 
places they had searched before ; and every one almost be- 
gan to look suspiciously at every one else. 

“ And it would have made any one’s heart ache, to see 
Little Bear. No one blamed him, but he couldn’t help 
feeling that it was his fault, and he wanted his dear Star, 
too. So he mourned and drooped, and all the sparkle 
went off from his beautiful soft fur, and out of his bright 
eyes ; and when Perseus offered to let him take the Gor- 
gon’s head to play with, he did n’t even care for that. 

“ Cassiopeia took him up into her chair beside her, and 
sang little songs to him. The one about the fishes, that 
he always liked.” 

“ What song ? ” asked the Kitten, quickly. 

“ This,” answered the Princess : — 


ORION 


“ Orion was a mighty hunter,” she explained. This is the way he would 
attack a lion or any wild creature, without the slightest fear. But he died at last 
from the bite of a scorpion. The Scorpion is in the sky too, spread out very 
glittering — a lobstery-kind of a thing — but never at the same time as Orion, 
because that wouldn’t be good manners. So, sometimes we see Orion marching 
across, with his two dogs, Sirius and Procyon; then we see the Scorpion, but 
never the two together.” 

And she could n’t draw the dogs near him, where they belonged, because the 
Kitten had stepped there; they had to move along to a place where the sand was 
smooth. 





THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 57 

There are just as good fish in the sea — the sea 
As ever came out (they say) ; 

But the finest fish that ever were there 
Have come to the Sky to stay. 

These fishes lived in a pool — a pool, 

Where coral and seaweed grow. 

The great waves dash on the reef without, 

But here they ripple and flow. 

You *d think ’t was a place where a fish — a fish 
Would willingly live and die ; 

But these two fishes were not content — 

They wanted to go to the Sky ! 

The Fisherman, up above — above, 

Espied the fish from afar ; 

He spun a line from a moonbeam fine. 

And baited it with a star. 

Now, these silly fish did n’t try — did n’t try 
To make the best of their home ; 

They fumed and they splashed and they lashed their tails, 
Till the water was covered with foam. 

And the Fisherman, watching above — above. 

And wanting to pull them in. 

Could only wait till the fish were too tired 
To move a tail, or a fin. 

Then, twice, on the face of the placid pool. 

He dropped the star from on high ; 

And, one by one, drew the Fishes up. 

To shine each night in the Sky ! 


58 


STAR PEOPLE 


And the moral ’s plain, of this tale (your tail, 

If you are a bear, or a fish). 

Don't fume arid splashy and disturb your pool, — 
And you 'll probably get your wish / 


“ Little Bear liked to hear it, but Cassiopeia could see 
that it was n’t really any comfort to him, and she was at 
her wit’s end to know what to do.” 

“ They ought to have thought it was a Comet,” said 
Pat. 

“ It was stupid in them, but they never once thought 
of them,” said the Princess. 

“ Don’t you know, it is like that sometimes,” said Phyl- 
lisy, “ the most probable thing you forget all about.” 

“ That was the way with them,” agreed the Princess. 
“ They thought of everything else, and the two days were 
almost gone when Boreas sent word that he could n’t 
possibly wait any longer ; but he would n’t blow the clouds 
clear off — only break them up, and send them flying 
about ; so perhaps it would n’t be noticed that the Star 
was gone. 

“‘That won’t do at all,’ said Orion. ‘We can’t take 
chances like that. But what can we do ? ’ 

“ ‘ The next best thing,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘ We must get 
another star as near like it as we can find.’ 


THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 59 

I have one the same color; but it's not the right 
size,' said Cepheus. 

“ ‘ Let me have it,' said Cassiopeia. ‘ I '11 try to match 
it.' 

“ She took it from him ; and the Star People came, one 
by one, and turned their backs to her, and she held up 
the star that was the right color by those that were the 
right size and in a place where they would n’t be missed ; 
and you never would believe how many sizes and colors 
there were ! It was enough to drive one crazy, and she 
was ready to give up in despair. At last she went back to 
one she had rejected before, on the back of Perseus' 
elbow. 

“ ‘ It is n’t right,’ she said, ‘ but it 's the best there is.’ 

“ ‘ Oh, that 's not so bad,’ said Orion. ‘ A man on horse- 
back would n't notice the difference ! ' 

That 's a very poor joke ! ’ snapped Cassiopeia — her 
nerves were quite frazzled. ‘ Come, Little Bear ! ’ 

“ And Little Bear came to her, and they fastened the 
false star on his tail ; and he let them do it, quite quietly, 
though he felt as if his heart would break — and so 
ashamed ! It was almost worse than no star at all, and 
seemed like trying to cheat the sailors who trusted him. 

“ All that night and the next and still another night. 


6o 


STAR PEOPLE 


Boreas blew and shouted through his trumpet, and the 
clouds swept back and forth, whirling and tumbling, while 
Little Bear stood at his post, wheeling slowly around the 
false star, with his head drooped low and the silver glint 
all gone from his soft fur, and his heart almost breaking, 
whenever, through the rifts of the racing clouds, he saw 
the ships flying before the gale — sailing to all quarters 
of the world. 

“ And the other Star People were almost as unhappy 
as he was, because they loved him, and because such a 
dreadful thing had happened, and somebody must have 
been so very wicked. By the time the third night was 
gone they felt that it could n’t possibly go on that way any 
longer ; and every one went to sleep, perfectly worn out 
with trying to think what they could do, and how they 
could comfort Little Bear, if nothing else could be done. 

“ Orion was just in his first sound sleep, when a big, 
jolly voice called : ‘ Are you all asleep there ? Wake up, 
Orion ! ’ 

“ Orion turned around, and there was Old Sol himself, 
fairly beaming with happiness and good humor, and — 
what do you think.? — in his hand he held up the lost 
Pole Star! 

“ ‘ Wh-why, where did you find it ? ’ gasped Orion. 


THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 6i 

‘ Oh, this fellow had it tucked into the crook in his 
tail. I caught him, going by, and shook him up, and out 
it fell. So I brought it to you.’ 

“ Then Orion saw that Sol held in his other hand the 
most disreputable little Comet that ever was seen ! His 
hair and tail — what was left of them — were hanging in 
shreds. He had struggled to escape, and Sol had held 
him. Now, scarcely enough of him was left to be worth 
holding — just a rag! and his head seemed positively 
shriveled up. 

“ ‘ For the love o’ the Law 1 ’ exclaimed Orion, ‘what ’s 
that ? A Comet I And we never once thought of it. Give 
me that star.’ He fairly snatched it from Sol’s hand, and 
started, as fast as he could run. North, waking every one 
as he ran, calling : ‘ We ’ve found the Pole Star I ’ 

“ The Comet seemed to think this was a good chance 
to escape, and wriggled cautiously between Old Sol’s 
fingers. ‘Oh, no!’ said Sol. ‘You’ll stay with me, 
where you won’t do any more mischief.’ And he put him 
in his pocket, and followed Orion, as fast as he could, to 
the North. 

“And when he came in sight, Little Bear was just 
awake, with everybody crowding around him, and talking 
to him so fast he could n’t understand what it was all 


62 


STAR PEOPLE 


about. But when he saw his own Star once more — then 
he knew ! And Old Sol laughed to see Little Bear (who 
had been so patient and uncomplaining when he was 
most unhappy) give his tail such a switch and jerk that 
it sent the false star flying off — nobody knew where, nor 
cared ! They kept right on talking — all at once, and 
nobody listening to anybody else — and saying how stu- 
pid it was in them not to have thought of the Comet.” 

(“ And it was,” said Pat, under her breath ; but Phyl- 
lisy shook her head at her — not to interrupt.) 

“ Cassiopeia cried, a very little, while they fastened the 
Sailor’s Star once more on Little Bear’s tail; and the 
good old Dragon said, anxiously : ‘ Be thure you fathen it 
thtrong ! ’ 

“ And Little Bear quivered and trembled with delight, 
his eyes sparkling, even in the sunshine; and then — 
everybody began to be so sleepy they could n’t hold their 
eyes open. So they all hurried back to their places and 
faded away again ; while old Sol, with the Comet in his 
pocket out of harm’s way, glowed brighter and brighter 
with pleasure. 

“ But when night fell, calm and cloudless, who was so 
proud as Little Bear.f^ His eyes twinkled brighter than 
any stars, and his soft fur glittered and shone, and he held 


THE COMET AND THE POLE STAR 63 

up his head bravely as he swung around the Pole Star — 
watching the ships ; while the sailors on the ships said : 
‘ How bright all the stars are to-night ! The rains have 
cleared the air/ 

“ The next cloudy night, Little Bear sat beside Cassio- 
peia, in her great jeweled chair, and she sang songs to him 
once more — about the Fishes, and the other songs he 
liked. Best of all, the one she could n’t sing to him when 
he was so unhappy, about his very own Sailor’s Star ; — 


“ Oh, how do the ships go sailing 
Over the starlit sea ? 

They ’re sailing East, 

And they ’re sailing West, 

And they ’re sailing South, — 

But they love the best. 

Where the North Star shines unfailing. 

“ Oh, how do the ships go sailing 
Over the angry sea ? 

The winds blow high, 

And the clouds sweep low, 

And the ship flies fast ! — 

But the sailors know 

Their Star still shines unfailing. 

“ And still the ships go sailing 
Forever, over the sea ; 

For the winds will drive 


64 


STAR PEOPLE 


The clouds away, 

And the stars shine forth, 

And the sailors say. 

Their Star for aye’s unfailing ! ” 

“ ‘ The Sta-a-ar ’s unfailing,’ ” sang the Kitten, after her. 
And they two sang the last few lines again, together. 

“ Oh ! ” exclaimed Miss Phyllisy. 

“ What is it } ” asked Pat. 

“ Orion’s leg is gone ; I ’ve been expecting it. A wave 
just went over.” 

And another wave followed close, and shoved it back 
still higher, before it had time to run away out. 

“ He does n’t mind,” said the Kitten. 

“ Not a bit,” said the Princess. “It was n’t even a like- 
ness. And where are the Comets 

There was n’t a sign of one left. And that was a sign 
that every one else had better be starting ! 



ORION’S DOGS AND LITTLE BEAR 


The name of the big dog was Sirius, and the little one was Procyon. And 
Orion himself hadn’t so splendid a star as Sirius wore in his collar. Procyon’ s 
was n’t quite so fine, because he was smaller. 

** And they ’ve just been over here to see Little Bear, and they ’re hurrying 
to catch up with Orion and be in their own places,” said Phyllisy. 




'‘S 


. ’\:,s' .' 





IV 


OLD SOL’S MENAGERIE 



she had said she 
would, and they had come ex- 
pressly when the tide was out, 
the Princess did n’t wait to be 
asked ; she only looked to see 
what kind of an Ocean it was, 
while the others hunted for a pointed shell like the one 
she used before — and it was a cool blue one, with little 
waves running on it and cloud shadows moving across. 

Then she took the shell that Miss Phyllisy brought, 
with the Others following ; and perhaps it was the very 
one that flew out of her hand ! Anyway, it was exactly 



66 


STAR PEOPLE 


like it ; it could have been brought back by the sea, and 
that was a sign that it was lucky to draw more Star People 
on the sand. 

They chose a place to begin, and the Princess drew a 
circle around her, as large as she could reach from the 
middle; and it was surprisingly round — when it was n’t 
mechanical. Then she came to the line of it and reached 
over and drew another, larger, circle just so far outside ; 
then she made marks — little neat ones — on the edge, 
to have it even, and drew lines across to divide it into 
spaces ; and there would be twelve. And the Princess was 
inside, drawing, and the Others were outside, watching to 
see what it was going to be — like a Bewitchment, with 
nobody speaking. For each time Pat started to say: 
“ WhdXever is it } ” Prudence said : “ Don’t speak ! ” and 
she stopped. But the Kitten lay on the sand, propped on 
her elbows, watching and making a song for herself, in- 
side, until the Princess was ready to talk. 

As she drew the last line across, that made twelve 
spaces, she began, sing-song: “ Walk right up, ladies and 
gentlemen ! The greatest show in Skyland is now ready 
to begin. Unrivaled aggregation of animals and galaxy of 
talented artists. Old Sol’s Menagerie, in Sky-Language 
called the Zodiac. Something between a zoological gar- 


OLD SOL’S MENAGERIE 67 

den and a circus, and better than both put together — ” 
She stopped and laughed, teasing with her eyes. 

“ What does it mean ? ” asked Pat. 

“ I ’m going to show you. These are twelve great cages 
that make a splendid ring all around the Sky — Houses, 
the Star People call them. They think it sounds better ; 
but they are n’t in the least like either cages or houses ; 
they ’re more like a place ; and it is n’t a flat circle like 
this. It’s that way in Starland. You can’t really describe 
it, because it ’s so different ; but we can draw it this way, 
and call it what we like.” The Princess stooped down and 
began to draw: “ In this first cage, Sol keeps the Ram 
that had the Golden Fleece, that they took away from 
him, to take such care of ! And now that he ’s a Star- 
Ram, he has it back and takes care of it himself.” 

“ So Draco need n’t watch it any more,” observed Phyl- 
lisy. 

“ The Ram likes it much better this way,” said the 
Princess. “ And here is his name, like a doorplate on his 
house.” She made a funny little mark in the corner of the 
space. “ Wherever you see that mark, Beloveds, it ’s the 
Sign of the Ram ; and it looks like his curving horns. 
Next door is a great white Bull. One time he was grazing 
in a meadow where some children were playing. He was 


68 


STAR PEOPLE 


very gentle, and let them wind garlands of flowers around 
his horns. At last, one of them climbed on his back, and 
away he went with her and swam over the sea. Did you 
ever see such remarkable, lofty horns.?” All the time 
she was drawing. — “ Here ’s the sign of his House, 
and here go his stars.” The Others had stars collected, 
and when they had finished the Bull, she went on : “ In 
this House are the Gemini Brothers, twin boys who do 
boxing and wrestling, and ground-and-lofty tumbling. 
Wonderful singers they are, too, Castor and Pollux, and 
especial friends of all sailors. They were great sailors 
themselves, and once drove all the wicked pirates out of 
the iEgean Sea.” 

“ The Star ones ? ” asked Pat. 

No ; the real ones. We want two beautiful pebbles for 
the stars that they wear in their helmets. And up here ” 
— the Princess whirled across — “ in this last House 
that brings it around the circle are two more twins — the 
Fishes that Cassiopeia sang about to Little Bear. They 
can have only small stars, because they were discon- 
tented.” 

When they were done the Princess turned back to the 
place where she left off. 

“ In this cage at the North is a Crab; and in the cage 


OLD SOL’S MENAGERIE 


69 

exactly opposite is a Goat, but not a common goat. He 
is a Sea-Goat — like this, with a kind of fish tail.” She 
left the Crab, and drew the Goat to show. “ These two 
were once impertinent to Old Sol ; and now he has them 
in his Menagerie ; and I ’m glad of it ! Are n’t you, Kit- 
ten ? ” 

“ What did they do ? ” asked Phyllisy. 

“ It ’s poetry,” said the Princess. She stopped drawing 
and clasped her hands around her knees, sitting in the 
middle of the Zodiac to say the poetry ; and the Others 
sitting outside to listen. 

A kindly gentleman was Mr. Sol. 

He sallied forth one day, to take a stroll, 

Saying : This morning I will make my goal. 

The South Pole.” 

With smiles for all he met, and greetings gay. 

He southward bent his steps, — nor would delay 

Because he saw, directly in his way, 

A Billy-Goat stood at bay ! 

“ Yez can’t go anny farther ! ” cried the Goat. 

“ The language on that sign I ’d have yez note : 

‘The passage South is closed.’ Kape on yer coat ! 

That ’s the Law ! Ye ’d orter know ’t ! ” 

His language rude could only cause surprise. 

And Sol advanced. Oh, who ’d believe his eyes ! 


STAR PEOPLE 


With lowered head Bill rushes — and Sol lies, 
Knocked flat ! — sprawly-wise ! 

Old Sol arose and said : “ I ’d have you learn ” 

(So grieved his rage had scarce begun to burn) 
“There ’s still a Pole to visit ; and I ’ll turn 
To the North ! Your Pole I spurn ! ” 

But as he walked and thought upon his wrong, 

His rage waxed hotter, his resolve more strong. 

“ The next who thwarts me won’t be happy long ! 

Just let him try ! — I think he ’ll change his song ! 

So striding northward, with his face ablaze. 

He overtook a Crab, who ’d paused to gaze 
Where stood the Pole. His courteous amaze 
Sol’s wrath allays. 

Now, even as the Goat was set to guard 
The Southern Pole, and visitors retard. 

The task of Mr. Crab was just as hard : 

The North he barred. 

But what ’s the use of knock-down argument, 

When courtesy will answer your intent 
If with a little tact ’t is wisely blent. 

Why break a will, that may as well be bentl 

“ Shall we not walk together, sir ? ” he said. 

Sol — still determined, though his rage was fled — 
Agreed, if to the Pole his friend’s path led. 

Waving his claw, the Crab said : “ Straight ahead ! 



TOGETHER, 


“SHALL WE NOT WALK 


SIR?” 



OLD SOL’S MENAGERIE 


71 


But wily Mr. Crab did not confess 

(And Sol was far too much engrossed to guess, 

So pleasant and straightforward his address), 

He backward walked^ — like all crabs — none the less ! 

They strolled together down the road awhile 
With jest and chat, that might the way beguile j 
Then bade adieu. And then Sol saw the wile 
That turned him from his purpose with a smile ! 

He had not noticed that they backward walked. 

Because the Crab so pleasantly had talked. — 

Thus, twice in his ambition was he balked : 

The Goat had felled him — and the Crab had mocked ! 

Since then, he 's fixed a limit for his stroll ; 

He never tries to go around the Pole. 

Deceit and rudeness worry Mr. Sol 
Past his control ! 

“ That is the poetry,” said the Princess, “ and this is 
very truly true : Old Sol makes a visit and spends a little 
while every year in each of the Houses of the Zodiac. But 
when he comes to the farthest North — which is the 
Crab — in the Summer, he turns back and goes South 
until he comes to the Goafs House, which is the farthest 
South, in the Winter ; then he turns and comes back, and 
so forever and always.” 

“ Won’t they let him go ? ” asked the Kitten. 


72 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ He does n’t give them a chance to prevent. Now he 
knows it’s a Rule of the Sky he obeys it even before he 
comes to the place they say he must n’t pass.” 

“ But they might have told him politely,” said Phyllisy. 
“ It means something behind, does n’t it. Dearie ? — just 
plainly true without anything around it ? ” 

The Princess laughed suddenly, because Miss Phyllisy 
was so earnest and so funny; but she nodded, “ Yes.” 

“And the ‘House’ just means that part of the sky 
where they are ? ” 

The Princess nodded again. 

“ And Old Sol has put a Bewitchment around it so 
they can’t get out — instead of bars,” Phyllisy added, 
going back of her own accord to the make-believe, be- 
cause she preferred it. And that was one of the ways she 
was wise. What was plainly true could very well wait 
until she was older and had more time to think about it. 

“ Here, in Mr. Crab’s House, Sol keeps a beehive.” 
The Princess went back to her drawing where she had 
left off the Crab to draw the Goat ; and the Others found 
very tiny yellow shells that looked like them, for the bees. 

“ Now, here is a Lion who does n’t have to be any lion 
in particular because he ’s so splendid just being himself. 
He ’s like ‘ Terrible as an army with banners,’ not because 


OLD SOL’S MENAGERIE 


73 

he’s terrible, but he’s like a heraldry lion. Right next 
him is Mile. Virgo, very ladylike and not a bit afraid.” 

“ What is she for ? ” asked Pat, while the Princess was 
drawing her. 

“ She does ‘ poses plastiques ’ — which means that she 
looks perfectly lovely being all kinds of statuary on top 
of a pedestal, and when she does n’t do that she does 
remarkable juggling with a pair of great scales that are 
carefully kept in the cage next hers, so they shan’t get 
out of order.” 

“ Could they weigh anything?” asked the Kitten. 

“Yes, indeed! The Star People may go in and be 
weighed on them, if Mile. Virgo goes with them. But the 
Scorpion really does the weighing — puts on the weights 
for her — because she’s so ladylike. He lives next door, 
on the other side, and he ’s very handy with his claws.” 

“ The Orion one ? ” asked Pat. 

“ The Orion one,” said the Princess, beginning in the 
middle to draw him. “ Somebody will have to find a 
splendiferous red something for the star he wears above 
his fiery heart.” She drew down his body into his curled- 
up tail ; then she put on his lobstery claws. 

“And this gentleman is Mr. Sagittarius, with a head 
and body like a man joined to the body of a horse; and 


STAR PEOPLE 


74 

he is a better shot with a bow and arrow than a Red 
Indian. Then, there ’s the Goat — we Ve done, and the 
Fishes — we’ve done. And there ’s just one more House 
I have n’t told you about. An old man lives in it. He ’s 
like Orion in one thing, he ’s very fond of gardening. 
But he hasn’t any garden, only a watering-pot. And 
that ’s the part of him we ’ll draw, because that ’s where 
he wears his stars.” 

“ You ’re making two spouts,” said the Kitten. 

“ Because it has. If you want to garden^ and have no 
garden but a watering-pot, you can’t have too many spouts. 
The Ancients said the two streams that flowed from it 
watered all the gardens of the world.” 

“ It must have felt funny to be an Ancient,” said Pat. 

“ Why ” asked Phyllisy. 

“ With those queer ideas in them,” said Pat. 

The Princess looked around the Zodiac ring, to see 
what was left out ; and it was all done but signs in the 
Fishes, and three more she had not put in when she made 
them. She put them in now, in the corners of the Houses. 
So it was finished ; and it had taken a good while — draw- 
ing and talking and starring them all ; but, because she 
was n’t tired, they moved along a little farther and began 
afresh. 


OLD SOL’S MENAGERIE 


75 

It was a tremendous man, with lumpy arms and legs ; 
and that was Hercules, the strongest person in the Sky. 

“ I Ve heard about him,” said Pat. “ He killed lions, 
and strangled some snakes when he was just a little baby 
in his cradle — immense ones ; he must have been always 
strong.” 

“ I suppose he inherited it,” said the Kitten — very 
grown-up. 

“ Just hear the child !” said Miss Phyllisy. “What does 
that mean, Kit.f^ ” 

“ I know,” the Kitten insisted. “ He could do it.” 

“ Course he could ! ” said the Princess ; “ and because 
of that. He came of a very fine family — none better. He 
was a God of the Greeks.” 

“A God!'"* exclaimed Pat. “Do you — mean — to say 
— that Hercules was a God?'^ 

“ I do,” said the Princess ; and, “ One of those An- 
cients, you know, Pat,” explained Phyllisy. But Pat paid 
no attention. 

“Well! For pitysakes! Hercules — a God!” she said 
once more. 

And that was all ; and nobody will ever know why it 
surprised her so. 

“That’s what he was,” said the Princess, drawing 


STAR PEOPLE 


76 

away, very industrious, — “a demi, to begin with, and 
they made him a whole one. He was highly cultivated 
and accomplished, besides being so strong. But he had a 
great deal of trouble, and had to work very hard; and 
altogether it quite broke him down. It made him always 
on the lookout for unfortunate signs. Now that he ’s a 
Star Person, he is n’t particularly intellectual, but he is 
perfectly amiable ; and that is a great deal to be thankful 
for, when you consider how strong he is.” And by that 
time he was ready for his stars. 

Miss Phyllisy suddenly thought of something. 

“ Oh, Dearie ! ” she exclaimed. “ There ’s somebody you 
never drew.” 

“ Who is that. Miss Phyllisy ? ” 

“ The Big Bear. You never talk about him.” 

The Princess made little marks in the sand, all in a 
row, that did n’t mean anything. When she spoke it was 
in a slow, thinking-it-out way : “ There is something cu- 
rious about that Bear, that makes him not do the things 
the other Star People do; and this is it:” — she spoke 
very impressively, — “ The Great Bear does n’t know 
whether he ’s a bear or a dipper ! ” 

“ Oh-h ! ” cried the Others. 

“ What do you mean } ” asked Phyllisy. 



“Of course it isn’t a likeness,** said the Princess, putting a quirl on her 
crown, “ but you can tell something by it. And do you think Cassiopeia looks 
like the kind of person who would boast of her own beauty ? ’ ’ 

The Others looked at her critically. — “She looks to me more domestic,” 
said Phyllisy. “Did she?” 

“Some old mythologies say she did, but it was truly Andromeda’s beauty 
she was so proud of. The trouble was, Cassiopeia wasn’t satisfied with knowing 
in her own heart that her child was the loveliest thing the sun shone on; she 
talked about it. And at last it came to the Sea Nymphs’ ears. They heard in 
all the waves — like coming out of a shell — ‘Andromeda is fairer than the Sea 
Nymphs: Cassiopeia says so,’ — and off they went to their father, crying: ‘Ven- 
geance, Father Neptune, upon the impious Cassiopeia! ’ That was the way they 
talked, only a great deal more of it. And rather than hear them whining and 
teasing he consented to punish Cassiopeia. She and Cepheus were obliged to 
chain Andromeda to a rock on the seacoast to be devoured by a horrible sea 
monster; and that would have been the end of her and her beauty if Perseus 
hadn’t come to the rescue.” 

Then they stopped talking about that, because it was time to put on Cassio- 
peia’s stars. 


OLD SOL’S MENAGERIE 


77 


“ He’s confused,” said the Princess. “You see, before 
he was a Star Person he was a performing bear, and in 
one of his tricks — the best one — he stood on his head 
so much it affected his brain. Now he is a Star Person, 
and he’s quite harmless, but he thinks perhaps he’s a 
Dipper. And, of course, when he thinks that he can’t go 
about or talk ; and there ’s nothing for him to dip, so he 
does n’t lead a very amusing life.” 

“Wouldn’t the Star People let him go with them?” 
asked the Kitten. 

“ Certainly they would — be glad to. But he does n’t 
want to. And they let him have his way. They call him 
‘ Major ’ ; and that pleases him when he thinks he ’s a 
bear, and when they see he has a ‘ dipper-fit ’ they don’t 
talk to him at all, because he does n’t like it.” 

“ I should think they ’d be glad,” said Pat. “ What 
could they talk about ? ” 

“Nothing intelligent,” agreed the Princess, “so they 
let him alone, to be happy in his own way.” 

“ Is Little Bear his child ? ” asked the Kitten. 

“ No, Kitten. They are n’t related ; they only both hap- 
pen to be bears and neighbors. Major never goes away 
from his place — almost never,” she corrected herself. 
Then she stopped, and began again, talking to herself. 


STAR PEOPLE 


7 ^ 

“There was once — such a time as they had — ’’ She 
shook her head, but she did 't say any more. 

“ Are n’t you going to tell it ? ” asked Pat. 

“ Bimeby,” said the Princess, suddenly energetic. “ I ’m 
going to draw him now. 

“Now, my Hearties! How’s that for a bear.? and just 
crying for stars. Look alive I and see what you ’ll see 
when he has them on.” 

They placed his pebbles, and seven were especially 
large, and all the time Pat kept saying : “ I don’t see 
anything. What is it .? ” — and all the Princess would say 
was, “Look at him hard, — his stars, — never mind his 
legs.” And then Phyllisy saw something that made her 
laugh. “ Oh, Dearie I Is that what made you think of it .? 
— The Dipper — what he thinks ? ” 

“ S-sh,” said the Princess. 

“What are you laughing at.? Tell me now,” said Pat. 

“ Don’t you see, Pat .? ” explained Phyllisy. “ It ’s the 
old Dipper we always knew — part of it is. I never thought 
of it ’s being the same.” 

“Two names for it.?” asked Pat, looking at the Prin- 
cess. 

She nodded. “ I know another one.” 

“ Are n’t you going to tell it ? ” 


OLD SOL’S MENAGERIE 


79 


“ Bimeby,” she said again, just as she had said it before. 

And that was drawing enough, and no time for a story, 
but much better for a scamper on the beach, along the 
edge of the waves that had stopped going out and were 
running all the time nearer. 


MAJOR 



Exactly far enough to be con- 
venient to sit down for a while 
was the old great Wreck that had 
been there for years and years and 
’ years. 

So there was only a part of it left, pushed deep in the 
sand, and sand inside, because the sea had eaten away the 
rest. And it was pale and gray-bleached where it stood 
up toward the sky, but underneath dark and sodden, with 
long seaweed weeping off into the water — back and forth 
— back and forth — forever. 

Going up by the rocks on the other side, some strong 
timbers laid over made a bridge across into the broken 
place where her ribs showed. There were pale waves 
churning, flat, in and out among the rocks and below the 


MAJOR 


8i 


bridge when they crossed over and came out on the old 
gray deck with the old black capstan standing in the 
middle of it; and everywhere around there was water. 
The Ocean was much larger from here than it was when 
they were walking on the sand ; so large that any ship in 
the whole wide world might have come sailing across it — 
and a fair wind blowing. The Princess looked for several 
minutes, to see if there was coming the finest ship afloat. 
And there was not; but she hadn’t expected it, because 
she knew it was not there. 

“ Now is it a suitable time to tell it ? ” asked Pat. 

And the Princess thought it was, while they rested, 
sitting on the tilting deck, with the sea running in and 
out in the dark hollow place under it. 

'' You know how you feel about something that is 
always therel^ she began ; “ a tree on the lawn, or a church 
steeple, or something you take for granted and expect to 
see when you look for it. You don’t look the first thing 
in the morning to see if it has gone away in the night. 

“ That was the way with Major. The Star People were 
so used to seeing him in his place that they thought very 
little about him. 

“ It was rather cloudy one morning when it was time 
to fade away, and it promised to be more cloudy by night. 


82 


STAR PEOPLE 


The Star People had plans for what they wanted to do ; 
and they waked up, quite full of their own affairs. So, 
though each one of them in Major’s neighborhood had 
a feeling that something was strange and lacking, they 
did n’t think enough about it to realize what it was. And 
it was n’t until Cepheus said suddenly ; ‘ Why, where ’s 
Major ? ’ that they saw that he was gone, and that was 
what they missed. 

“^Now, what do you thuppoth pothethed him?’ said 
Draco. 

“ ‘ I ’ve no idea,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘ But we must find 
him and bring him back. We can’t let the silly old thing 
go wandering about, nobody knows where. Perseus ! ’ she 
called. ‘You and Andromeda come and help.’ 

“ They were so interested in some scheme of their own 
they were n’t noticing what was going on. But as soon as 
they did, they were just as much concerned as anybody. 
^ Major gone ! ’ they said. ‘ Why, where can he be ? ’ 

“ ‘ I thee him ! ’ called Draco, excitedly. He had flown 
up to look about. Now he dropped again. ‘ He ’th almotht 
to Orion’th garden, and going Thouth ath fatht ath ever 
he can ! ’ 

“‘Run, Perseus. You’re young,’ said Cassiopeia; and 
off he started, with Andromeda after him. She and Per- 


MAJOR 


83 

seus very easily ran faster than the other Star People who 
followed : Cepheus and Cassiopeia, with Draco, half flop- 
ping his wings and half running on his short crooked 
legs, like a dachshund’s, and after them Hercules and 
Little Bear. Hercules picked him up and put him on his 
shoulder, and came after the others — all racing down 
toward the Southern Sky, to find Major and bring him 
back home. 

“Cassiopeia was not much of a runner; but Hercules 
came up and put his hand under one arm, and Cepheus 
put his under the other, to help her along, so they made 
pretty good speed; though, of course, not so good as 
Perseus and Andromeda. So they were n’t surprised, 
when they finally came in sight of Major, to see that the 
young people had caught up with him, and they and Orion 
were going along by his side. 

“ For Major was n’t noticing them, nor stopping to 
listen to their talk. He kept straight on, lifting his great 
paws high and throwing them out as he trotted — not as a 
bear usually runs, and not getting along so very fast, either. 

“ When he was actually in sight Cassiopeia declared 
she could n’t go another step without resting. So she sat 
down ; and Perseus, who saw them, came racing back 
with Andromeda after him, of course. 


84 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ ‘ Guess what he thinks ! ’ he called, when he came 
within hearing distance. ‘ He thinks he ’s a wagon!’ cried 
Andromeda, in the same breath. 

“ ^ A wagon!'' said everybody. 

“‘Yes, he does,’ said Andromeda. ‘Orion ran out after 
him when he went by the garden, and Major made him 
look out for the wheels. He thinks his legs are wheels, and 
he will run over any one who ’s in the way.’ 

“ ‘ Did you ever hear more ? ’ said Cepheus. ‘ I ’d like to 
know how such an idea came into his addled old head.’ 

“ ‘ I ’d just like to know how to put it out!'' said Cas- 
siopeia. 

“ ‘ How ’ll you stop him, if you don’t ’ asked Hercules. 
‘ He ’ll keep on forever — now he ’s started.’ And that was 
perfectly reasonable, certainly, and quite observant for a 
person who did n’t pretend to be bright. 

“ ‘ I can thtop him,’ said Draco. 

“ ‘ How ? ’ asked Perseus. 

“‘You wait and thee. We’ll catch up with him thoon. 
He doeth n’t go very fatht.’ ” 

The Princess stopped, and looked off, over the sea. 
Then she looked back at the Others, all waiting for her 
to go on. 

“ It’s terribly exciting. Dearie,” said Phyllisy. 


MAJOR 


85 


“ Then what happened ? ” asked the Kitten. 

“ By this time Cassiopeia was ready to go on, and they 
started once more. They could see that Orion still talked 
and argued as he kept on by Major’s side, with the two 
dogs running about them both; but Major never once 
glanced at him or his dogs, and kept up his curious gait. 

“And — do you believe? — now that they knew what 
his idea was, his legs did seem to make a circular mo- 
tion ; and they could n’t help thinking that he did look a 
little like a great clumsy wagon ; but they would n’t, one 
of them, have owned it to the others ! 

“ ‘ Now what do you think of that ? ’ asked Orion, stop- 
ping to let them come up with him. ‘ He ’s started, and 
he may go forever ! ’ 

That’s what / say,’ observed Hercules. 

“ ‘ Draco says he can stop him,’ said Andromeda. 

“‘Oh, can he?’ said Orion. ‘All right. Go ahead. It’s 
more than I can do.’ 

“‘I’m pretty thure I can,’ said Draco, as he flopped 
along — and they stood aside to let him pass, he took so 
much room ; ‘ but you ’ll have to thtand by what I thay. 
It’ll take diplomathy.’ 

“ Then they all followed after to see what his diplomacy 
was, and how he would use it. And when he came up 


86 


STAR PEOPLE 


with Major he didn’t stop; he didn’t even seem to notice 
him, but kept flopping along until all but three coils of his 
tail had passed him. Then he stopped abruptly, as if he 
were very much surprised. ‘ Why, I thought you were a 
wagon,’ he said. ‘ But where are your hortheth ? ’ 

“ Major held one foot suspended in the air for a mo- 
ment, and they thought he might stop. But it was only 
an instant ; then he went on. 

“ Draco raised his voice higher : ‘ Don’t you know, you 
thilly, a wagon can’t go without thomething to draw it ? ’ 

“ ‘ Then how did he get here } ’ asked Perseus. 

“ ‘ S-s-sh ! ’ said every one. 

“‘Now he’th thpoiled everything!’ complained Draco. 
And he flopped right down in the road — but Major kept 
straight on. 

‘“No, he hasn’t,’ said Andromeda, encouragingly. 

‘ Don’t you mind. That was fine I I know how to man- 
age.’ Then she ran on until she was a little ahead of 
Major. And she looked at him, very hard, and stooped 
down and looked at his legs. Then she called back, over 
his head : — 

“ ‘ It ’s running downhill ; but it will stop now. It ’s be- 
ginning to go up.’ 

“ Sure enough, it did begin to curve up just there ; and 



“WHY, I THOUGHT YOU WERE A WAGON,” HE SAID, “BUT WHERE ARE 

YOUR HORTHETH?” 




MAJOR 


87 

Major lifted one foot — and put it down, heavily ; then he 
swung the other around wildly — and they all crowded 
near, and said: ‘There! It's stopping. It can’t runup- 
hill.’ And the next minute Major sat down with a hard 
thump, not very far from the edge of the Zodiac. And if 
you don’t believe he was a tired old Bear, you try it your- 
self!” 

The Others giggled ; but they believed it without in- 
terrupting. And the Princess went on: “When I told 
you about the old man in the Zodiac, I did n’t tell you 
this : besides his watering-pot, he has a great reputation 
for giving wise advice. So when the Star People are in 
any difficulty they go and consult Aquarius. Or they 
would go ; but when he once begins to talk he goes on 
forever ; and they are so tired with it, and it is so impos- 
sible to stop him without being rude, that they are rather 
more likely to say to some one else, ‘ Why don’t you go 
and ask Aquarius 1 ’ than they are to go themselves. 

“When Major sat down hard, he was not far from 
Aquarius’ House, and the old man came to its limit to see 
what was going on, but the Star People pretended they 
did n’t see him, because they did n’t want him to begin 
talking. 

“ Cassiopeia was the person who discovered that they 


88 


STAR PEOPLE 


were out of one trouble only to be in another. They had 
stepped aside a little, to be out of Major’s hearing, and 
everybody — except Cassiopeia — was saying how good 
it was he had stopped. Draco just observed complacently, 
for the third time : ' I don’t know how I happened to 
think of it. It theemed to come to me,’ when Cassiopeia’s 
voice broke in on them, very cold and depressing : ‘ It ’s 
a pity it came so soon. Why did n’t you turn him around 
first.?’ 

' Turn him around .? ’ said Cepheus. ‘ What for .? ’ 

“ ' What is the first Rule of the Sky .? ’ asked Cassio- 
peia, and they all recited in unison : — 

“ ‘ A Place for Everything ; and Everything in its 
Place.’ 

“ ‘ Yes,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘ There he is,’ and she pointed 
to Major, sitting, exactly as he dropped, ‘ and there's 
his place!’ and she waved her arm toward the North. 

‘ How are you going to get him there .? ’ 

“ Then they were in a pickle I Major had always liked 
Andromeda, and she tried to coax him. But he would n’t 
pay the slightest attention when she talked.” 

“ He thinks he ’s a Wagon, just the same, if he has 
stopped,” said PhylHsy. 

“Of course,” said the Princess. “So it was no use to 


MAJOR 


89 

talk to him. Then they tried to push him and pull him 
around ; but he shook them off, and even growled as no 
one had heard him growl before. Besides that, he was 
naturally an extremely large bear, and being a Dipper, 
with nothing to dip, and doing absolutely nothing else, 
had made him grow fat. Even if he had allowed them, 
they could hardly have moved him all that way. And 
certainly not without Hercules’ help. All this time he 
had stood aside, saying nothing, though they had n’t 
noticed it, they were so busy with Major himself. At last 
Orion almost suggested setting his dogs on him. But 
they all said: ‘ The idea! Poor, dear, old Major I’ and he 
said quickly, of course he did n’t mean it. He only said 
they could. Nobody answered him ; nobody spoke at all 
for as much as a minute. 

“ Then Cassiopeia sniffed. Then she looked very hard 
at Hercules, and remarked: ‘ If I could do anything I 
would n’t wait to be asked.’ 

‘ Who could } ’ asked Perseus. 

“ ‘ I don’t say any one could,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘ But if 
I were so strong that my hands just — er — swung, and I 
saw that poor old lamb, far from his home, and with not 
sense enough to go to it, I ’d do the best I could to take 
him there I ’ 


90 


STAR PEOPLE 


‘“There aren't stars enough in the Sky to make me 
touch him ! ' said Hercules. ‘ And it is n’t carryin’ him I 
mind. Bless you, I could pick him up like a baby. He 
does n’t weigh so much.’ 

“ ‘ Then why don’t you do it ? ’ asked Cepheus. 

“ ‘ ’T is n’t lucky,’ said Hercules. ‘ He is n’t willing ; and 
he ’s an Innocent. No good ever comes of crossing an idjit. 
I would n’t lay so much as a finger on that loony bear — 
unless he was willing — for all you could offer ! No, sir-ee ! ’ 
“Then they were just about ready to give up, or take 
anything that offered, so they were n’t very reluctant to see 
old Aquarius, who had been beckoning to them and waving 
his watering-pot for some time, and evidently had some- 
thing to say. They drew near, where he could talk to 
them, though they groaned when they did it, for they knew 
he would bore them almost to death. 

“ ‘ I have been strangely unable to gain your notice, 
although I have made considerable effort to that end,’ he 
began, in his prosy way. ‘ I have waved my hand — thus ’ 
(he showed them how he had beckoned), ‘ and my water- 
ing-pot — thus’ (and he showed them how he had waved 
the watering-pot, and hadn’t spilled a drop of water, 
although it had two spouts), ‘ but in spite of my endeav- 
ors, I have been unable to attract your notice.’ (They 


MAJOR 


91 

looked at each other, and sighed.) ‘I have been thus 
persistent,’ he went on, *for your good; not for my own 
pleasure — although conversation with congenial persons 
is always most agreeable to me — ’ 

“ ‘ Me, too,’ said Draco. ‘ I jutht love to talk to my 
friendth.’ 

“ ‘ Er — exactly,’ said Aquarius. * But it was not merely 
to converse — agreeable as it may be to us all — alV, he 
repeated, waving his watering-pot benevolently. (And 
they looked at each other again; and some of them 
changed their weight over onto the other foot.) ‘ No, I 
had a purpose in calling you hither. I rarely act without 
a purpose — ’ 

“ ‘ What was it } ’ asked Perseus. 

“ ‘ I was about to mention it ! ’ — looking at Perseus 
reprovingly. ‘You seemed in some perplexity concerning 
the removal of that misguided Bear to his proper place. I 
gather that he considers himself — and wishes to be con- 
sidered— a Wagon! A most surprising hallucination. It 
might be interesting to consider how it could have arisen ?’ 
He looked at them, in turn, to see if they were inclined 
to consider it, but they were not, and stood perfectly still, 
without any expression in their faces, until Hercules said : 
‘You were going to tell us something.’ 


92 


STAR PEOPLE 


“‘Yes. I remember to have heard something that ap- 
plies exactly to such a case. I am sure it will be a helpful 
suggestion.’ 

“ Every one looked hopeful and interested, but Aqua- 
rius stopped short. They waited. Then, ‘ I seem to have 
forgotten it for the moment. But never mind — it will 
come — it will come — ’ 

Oh, what’s the use waiting.?’ muttered Orion. 

“ ‘ It will come,’ went on Aquarius, cheerfully. ‘ It is 
something about wagons — and stars — I am sure it is 
just what is needed. Ah ! I have it now : “ Hitch your 
wagon to a star!” — The very thing! I knew it would 
come,’ and he went right on talking ; but the Star People 
were not listening. If that was the best he could do in the 
way of advice, they were completely discouraged. 

“ ‘ I never heard such rubbish in my life ! ’ said Cassi- 
opeia, under her breath. ‘ Nor I,’ said Orion. ‘ I know 
pretty much all there is to know about stars — and how 
could you hitch a wagon to one .? And if you did, what 
then ? ’ They all thought that was the very silliest advice 
that ever was given ; and there was old Aquarius talking 
and talking — and they didn’t know how they were to 
escape from him, when some one said : — 

“ ‘ Look at Major ! ’ 


MAJOR 


93 


“They all looked — even Aquarius stopped with his 
mouth open — and, what do you think ? With all their 
trying they couldn’t move that foolish old Bear one 
inch. But now, when they were worried to death, and 
trying to think what to do next, and were leaving him 
alone — 

“ All at once he turned his great head and seemed to 
see for the first time where he was. Then he stood up; 
and they held their breath to see what he would do. He 
stood for a moment, swaying his huge body back and 
forth; then he swung around until his nose pointed to the 
North, and started off at an even trot, never looking to 
the right nor to the left, just like an ordinary bear, and 
not in the least like a wagon or a dipper ! And he did n’t 
stop until he reached his very own place in the Sky. 
The Star People followed him all the way on tiptoe, not 
daring to speak for fear he would change his mind again 
before he reached home. But I should n’t wonder if 
old Aquarius went right on talking, though there was 
not a soul left to hear him ; for no one thought to say 
‘ Good-by.’ 

“ That was a long time ago, and Major still thinks he ’s 
a Dipper; but he knows it ’s no use to be a Wagon with- 
out horses. So he stays in his place, and the Star People 


94 


STAR PEOPLE 


feel pretty comfortable about him. But ” — the Princess 
dropped her voice, and glanced up at the sky — “just 
suppose he ever finds out about Automobiles ! 

“ O-o-o-oh ! ” said the Others, politely horrified. 

Then : “ He won’t,” said Pat. “ And I know what the 
other name for it is, besides Dipper and Great Bear. You 
need n’t tell.” 

“ I know, too,” said Phyllisy. 

“ I ’d like to tell somebody,” said the Princess. “ Come 
close. Kitten, and let me whisper it.” 

So the Kitten came close, and she and the Princess 
found her ear — warm and rosy under a great deal of 
troublesome hair — and the Princess whispered in it until 
the Kitten laughed. “ Now we all know, don’t we ? ” said 
the Princess. And they all nodded. 

The waves were running away from them, up the beach, 
a long way beyond the point of the ship where the bow- 
sprit used to be. 

The Kitten knelt down and looked through a chink in 
the deck, at the water under it. She curved her hands 
each side of her eyes to shut off the sunlight so she could 
see more plainly, and to keep her hair from falling into 
them. “ O-oh ! it ’s pretty closer,” she said. 

“ Let me see,” said Pat. The Kitten let her have the 


MAJOR 


95 

place, and she saw for herself. She was satisfied in a 
minute ; then she settled back on her heels. “ It ’ll come 
just so close; then it’ll go back — and not any more. 
What makes it do that ? ” she said. 

^ “ The tide,” said Miss Phyllisy. 

“ I know that,” said Pat. “ What makes it } ” 

“It’s on account of Lady Moon going by,” said the 
Princess. 

“ That would be a different kind of Star Person. Is n’t 
she ? ” said Phyllisy. 

“ Pretty different, and especially nice. This is the story 
of her: She is Mother Earth’s dear daughter. Long ago 
her mother held her close in her arms ; then Lady Moon 
was called away to live in Starland, and had to leave her 
mother’s side. Her dim gray robes never could be seen 
in that distant sky, so she carries a glowing lantern hung 
on her arm ; and when the slide is open and Mother Earth 
sees its light, she knows where her child is wandering 
among the stars. Then her heart longs for her, and she 
reaches out toward her, trying always to come a little 
nearer. If you listen, you ’ll hear the sea sobbing, to 
think how far away she has gone.” The Princess stopped 
talking, and tipped her head, listening. They listened with 
her, to the waves running into the old ship — and they 


96 STAR PEOPLE 

truly seemed to grow sadder and sadder ; not unhappy- 
sad, but romantic. 

“That is beautiful, Dearie,” said Phyllisy. “It’s par- 
able, is n’t it ? ” 

“ This is truly true,” answered the Princess. “ Wher- 
ever the moon is, there every bit of the Earth feels it, and 
is drawn out toward it.” 

“ Hard rocks and all ? ” asked Pat, as if she never 
would believe it. 

“ Rocks and mountains and all,” said the Princess. 
“ But they are so stiff they don’t give very much. But 
the sea yields easily, and the water heaps up toward the 
moon, and pulls away from the shore behind it ; then when 
the moon passes on, it flattens out again. If we were down 
on the sand before every bit of the hard is covered up, I 
could draw something to show it plainer, in about two 
seconds, on the way back. But there ’s no time to waste.” 

So, without wasting any time, they left the old Wreck 
deep in the sand and water, with the waves running in 
from the Ocean and hurrying by it — on to the land. 
And when they found a hard place, the Princess drew the 
large round Earth with the sea humping up on the side 
of it toward the small round moon. And she drew several 
moons on several sides, to show how the hump would 


MAJOR 


97 


follow, and make the tide ; but it was all one moon — 
only gone along a little farther. And she said it was truly 
the Earth that whirled in the middle, not the moon going 
around; but they were n’t to bother about that — and they 
did n’t. 


VI 

THE BEE BABY 



lHE pleasure of your company to 
Mrink tea with the Princess,” it 
said. And the Others left all their 
I ^ occupations and came at once. 

M She was expecting them, with the 

little tea-table set out and ready; 
but they might wash their hands in the Princess’s own 
bath-room, and have verbena water out of a tall bottle on 
them, if they liked ; and they did — a great deal. 

The “ tea ” was in a high, cool, clinking pitcher of 
strange colored glass that let the light shine through, and 
it was golden and yet pinky, and tasted of fruits, but no 
kind any one could say. But they could have it in a tea- 




ANDROMEDA 


‘'Poor Andromeda!” said the Princess. “She must have wished she had 
been born with piggy eyes and a turned-up nose when she found what came of 
her beauty. Here she is: chained to the rock, waiting for the sea monster to 
come and devour her, but still lovely.” 

“She isn’t chained nozu?” said Pat. “In the sky 

“ Dear me, no! Never, since Perseus happened along with Medusa’s head in 
his wallet, and turned the sea monster into a rock. But this is the way they stand 
to be looked at, — a tableau, with Perseus coming to the rescue, and Cassio- 
peia looking on, thinking what a lucky escape they had, and that her child is 
truly much lovelier than any Nymph whatever. But she isn’t talking about it 
any more.” 

“Perhaps she would have thought so, just the same, if Andromeda had 
looked piggy/’ observed Phyllisy. 

“Very true. Madam Owl,” agreed the Princess. But whether or no, 
she certainly has four undeniably beautiful stars to wear — if anybody will find 
them for her.” 





THE BEE BABY 


99 


cup if they would rather. (The teapot was there too, by 
courtesy, to look on.) The Princess sat beside the table to 
pour it, with wide lace hanging over her arms, and coming 
out from under, but not catching when she handled the 
fragile cups, because she knew how — very deftly. 

Pat chose a yellow cup, with butterflies and tiny roses, 
and Miss Phyllisy took one, white and very thin, with a 
dragon coiled around it and a red curly handle ; but the 
Kitten had hers in a tall glass like the pitcher, and so did 
the Princess. And there were delicious little cakes, the 
kind the Princess had, and never any one else. It was most 
refreshing and restful to hot little girls out of a garden. 

At last they said, “ No, thank you, really when she 
asked if they would have another cup, because the cups 
were so small. Then the Princess went over to a comfort- 
able chair near the long window, and watched the Others 
wandering about the room. Outside it would still be hot 
in the garden ; but in the Princess’s own room it was cool 
and shaded, with interesting things to see, that they loved 
because they had seen them before. 

“ Suppose there were an Indian Squaw {and there was),'' 
said the Princess, “ and she was weaving a beautiful bas- 
ket.” 


Is it that basket } ” asked Pat. 


loo STAR PEOPLE 

“ That very identical basket you 're going to hand 
me.” 

So Pat brought it to the Princess, and Phyllisy and 
the Kitten came too. “ And suppose, when she came near 
the top, she wove in this row of brown points like the 
teeth of a saw” — their heads were close together, follow- 
ing the Princess's finger with their eyes. “ Wouldn’t any 
one know that she meant them for mountains ? ” 

“ Did she } ” asked Phyllisy. 

“ She did,” said the Princess. 

“ Oh-h,” said the Others. 

“ Or,” said the Princess, “ suppose there were an An- 
cient Egyptian — the Ancientest kind — who lived on the 
edge of a flat desert ; and could never — alive or dead — 
go to a mountain without crossing miles of blazing sand. 
If he happened, at the same time, to be a King {and he did), 
with thousands of slaves to work for him, he might set 
them to work to build him a mountain. And what shape 
would it be when it was done .f"' 

“ What } ” asked the Kitten. 

“ I know what I think," said Phyllisy, “ maybe." 

“ Say it, Miss Phyllisy. I think so, too.” 

“ A pyramid ? ” 

“ Would it ” asked Pat. 


THE BEE BABY 


lOI 


“ What shape would it ? ’’ repeated the Kitten. 

The Princess did n’t answer directly. “ Let ’s just once 
more suppose. Suppose there were a little girl, who wanted 
to draw the picture of a mountain. (And I saw the picture')'''^ 
— “ M-m-mm,” purred the Kitten. — '' Her pencil went 
up one side — so,” the Princess slanted up with her finger, 
and the Kitten did the same with hers, “ and down the 
other,” — their fingers slid down again — “like a letter 
‘A,’ very much spread out and without any cross-piece. 
Now: could there well be three kinds of people more dif- 
ferent than an Indian Squaw, an Ancient Egyptian, and 
a Kitten — I mean a little girl And yet they agree pre- 
cisely about how a mountain ought to look. Does n’t it 
seem as if they must be right } ” 

The Others thought it did — looking at the Pyramid 
picture over the glass cabinet. Then the Princess leaned 
forward, with the lace all falling away, and her voice grew 
more impressive : — 

“ There is Some One else who thinks just as they do ; 
and she does n’t stop with thinking, she takes the best of 
care that there shall be one perfect example of a truly 
symmetrical mountain.” 

“Oh-h,” said Phyllisy. “Was that what it was all for.? 
I thought it was just conversation.” 


102 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ Not at all,” said the Princess. “ It was designed to 
lead you gradually up to that especial mountain.” 

“ Are you going to tell us ? ” asked Pat. 

“ If you don’t think it will tire you.” She said it very 
politely, like a question. And they all shook their heads 
— one great, vigorous shake. So the Princess began to 
tell it : — 

“Sometimes, on her voyages, the Jane Ellen passes 
near a coast where there is a long line of white surf edging 
the blue water; then just as long a line of white sand ; and 
back of both, the level forest extending back to the line 
of the coast mountains. And back of this coast range — 
so far away that it looks as if it were painted flat on the 
pale blue sky, with paint only a shade darker — rises the 
great triangle that, Taffy says, is the most satisfactory 
mountain in the world. 

“ And that is Xyntli’s mountain.” 

“Did Taffy see it.^^” asked Pat. 

“He did,” said the Princess, “from the sea. He some- 
times thought he would like to go inland and see what it 
was like, near at hand. But the Jane Ellen never stopped 
there — there was nothing to stop for — and he never 
went. And that’s all he and the Jane Ellen had to do 
with it. 


THE BEE BABY 


103 


“ If he had left the ship and gone ashore to climb to the 
top of the range of hills, he would have seen that they 
sloped down again ; and far away, over miles of green, 
rolling country, the great cone of the mountain lifts its 
bare slope out of the forest. And on the southern side, 
almost at the top, his sailor eyes might have made out the 
hole (with the peak of the mountain, like a pointed hood, 
behind it) that leads down into the depths where Xyntli 
sleeps — long naps that keep her young and beautiful in 
spite of her age. 

“No one can tell how beautiful she is, because she wraps 
herself in a veil when she looks out; but her splendid, 
fiery-gold hair streams out of it, and floats and sparkles 
in the wind when she stands on tiptoe inside, to look 
out and see that the mountain is just as she wants it to 
be, — an even slope from top to bottom ; clean rocks, 
with no creeping green things and trees littering up its 
sides. 

“ It must be trying to her (and she is a nervous person, 
too) to lie down to peaceful slumber for a hundred years 
or more, leaving her mountain the pink of perfection ; and 
to wake and look out — only to see that the waters that run 
down its sides have collected into streams, and dug irregu- 
lar channels for themselves (like scratches on the mahog- 


104 


STAR PEOPLE 


any table!), and to listen and hear the winds whispering 

in the leaves of the forest: — 

Creeping, creeping, 

Forward stealing — 

Up the mountain 
Follow, follow; 

Tiny rootlets. 

Thrusting, feeling 
Every crevice 
(S-s-ssh !), 

Silence keeping — 

In the hollow 
Of her mountain 
Xyntli ’s sleeping ! 

Silence keeping — 

Soft gray mosses 
Cover rocks, 

And, onward creeping. 

Claim the mountain ! 

Forward leaping. 

Winged seeds ! 

You ’ll soon be peeping 
O’er the rim. 

Where, in the hollow 
Of the mountain, 

Xyntli ’s sleeping. 

— and then to see that the forest actually is marching up 
the sides of her own fortress ! Would n’t that be discour- 
aging ? 


THE BEE BABY 


105 


“ But Xyntli is not discouraged. Not she ! She calls up 
her fiery snakes from below, and sends them crawling 
down the sides of the mountain, while she stands on the 
top, waving her wonderful smoky veil, and urging them 
on. 

“ Down they glide, — filling up the channels the streams 
have dug, hissing with hatred as they swallow the streams 
themselves, and devouring the advancing forest. 

At last the mountain stands once more, smooth and 
polished — the green army driven back to the valley. 

“ Then Xyntli is satisfied, and cuddles down in her 
hollow for another nap. 

“ It was during one of these naps — after it had lasted 
a very long time — that the Bee Baby was born. 

“ Year after year, the forest had marched steadily on; 
so the people who lived in the valley seldom thought how 
the snakes had come down and driven it back in the old 
days. The very old people occasionally shook their heads, 
and said : ‘ When Xyntli wakens she will have her own/ 
But the young people did n’t listen, and followed the for- 
est, building their curious houses fairly upon the slope of 
the mountain. 

“ They were very strange houses indeed — a good deal 
like willow bird-cages. In a snowstorm they would have 


io6 


STAR PEOPLE 


been about as useful for a house as a mosquito net for an 
overcoat. But there came never a snowstorm; and the 
house where the Bee Baby lived was built of slender 
branches of trees, set in the ground, side by side, and 
interwoven with palm-fibre — the light glimmered through 
it in little flecks. The roof went up to a point in the mid- 
dle and sloped four ways. That was woven even closer, of 
the palm leaves, so the rain could n’t come through. The 
house had only one room, and nearly the whole of one 
side was the doorway — with the roof extended over it a 
little way, like an awning. There was no floor but the 
earth, and no door. So, when the Bee Baby woke in the 
morning, all he had to do was to rub his big brown eyes 
with his little brown fists, and trot through the open door- 
way, to be in the warm sunshine, where there was n’t a 
fence nor a bar between him and the whole enchanting 
world. 

“ There was no one to watch him very closely, either, 
because he had no mother. He did have a father ; but he 
spent a great deal of his time driving a pair of drowsy 
oxen in a cart with two solid, wooden wheels. Such a 
queer cart ! 

“ Of course his father knew that one of the brown 
babies that played and tumbled about in the village of 


THE BEE BABY 


107 


bird-cage huts was his. But when babies wear only their 
own shining skins to cover them, it is n’t easy for a father 
who spends most of his time driving an ox-cart to pick 
out his particular baby.” 

“ Not any clothes — did n’t they wear ? ” asked Pat. 

“ Most of the little children did n’t. A few of them — 
who were very fashionable — wore one garment. It was 
a straight piece of cloth that covered their plump little 
bodies in front ; the ends were gathered up in the back, 
and tied in a bow between the shoulders. It looked very 
stylish — but the Bee Baby was more comfortable. Stand 
up a minute, Kitten, and I ’ll show you how it was.” 

So the Kitten came and stood before her, and she showed 
them how the fashionable little children dressed, using a 
piece of Chinese embroidery for the straight piece of 
cloth. Then they settled down once more to listen. 

“ If an owl had looked through a chink in the wall, very 
early one morning, he might have seen the Bee Baby’s 
family — his aunts and his grandmother and four or five 
brown babies and children — all asleep on flat straw mats 
on the ground. But nobody but an owl could have counted 
exactly how many there were, it was still so dark. 

“ Then the first sunbeam slipped in at a chink, and put 
its finger on one of the poles in the side of the hut. It 


io8 STAR PEOPLE 

felt its way slowly down, until it touched a small, dark heap 
at the foot of it 

“ And that was the Bee Baby. 

“ He sat up on his mat and looked around him at the 
other heaps. 

“ Not one of them stirred ; and that was pretty stupid. 

“Then he saw something interesting; his own little 
foot with the sunbeam resting on it, as he sat with his 
toes pointing straight up at the roof. He looked at it for 
a moment, and frowned as if he were anxious. Then he 
leaned forward and felt of it. 

“ It was a perfectly good foot; and feet are made to be 
walked on ; and it is much more amusing to be walking 
than sitting on a mat in a dusky hut like a bird-cage. 
That, probably, is the idea that came into the Bee Baby’s 
head when he found his foot was so satisfactory ; and a big 
dimple came in his cheek, but he did n’t make any noise. 

“To get up, he rolled over on to his face and planted 
his feet firmly, only when they were quite solid, lifting his 
hands from the ground. And there he was, all dressed 
and ready to go out. He trotted over to the doorway and 
stopped a minute, looking out. 

“ The hut stood on the edge of a grove of tall cocoanut 
trees. There were bananas growing among them ; and vines 


THE BEE BABY 


109 


with gorgeous orange and red flowers creeping every- 
where. Black and spotted pigs ran grunting through the 
vines and about the huts of the little village ; it all looked 
clean and fresh in the early sunlight. The Bee Baby’s was 
the last hut of the village, at the edge of the grove, that 
stretched on beyond it, up the slope of Xyntli’s mountain. 

“ When one is not much over two years old, one can’t 
think of everything, and the Bee Baby did n’t notice that 
which the older people had been watching for a month 
— Xyntli was awake ! 

“After a sleep of two hundred years — and more — 
one night she had stirred and turned herself, shaking her 
mountain and the village on its slope. The next morning 
a thin, gray streamer floated from the top of the cone ; 
and the old people said : ‘ Xyntli’s veil ! Oh, when she 
sees — ’ And they shook their heads. 

“ Since that day the veil had floated, sometimes like a 
broad banner, then again Xyntli drew it in until it was 
gathered down inside. But yet, she had not looked out 
and seen how the forests and streams were defacing her 
mountain. 

“ And the Bee Baby did n’t look up at the great blue 
triangle. The kitchen was at the right of the house ; and 
he had a feeling that said: ‘Breakfast’ So those good 


no 


STAR PEOPLE 


little feet carried him over to the big stone where the 
women ground corn to make the flat cakes that he liked 
to nibble with his brand-new teeth. The stone oven where 
they were baked was there too ; and the Bee Baby found 
some cakes lying on the grinding-stone. He had to stand 
on his tiptoes and feel over the stone, to find them ; but 
he knew where to feel, and where to find a banana, too. 
So why should he wake the cook ? 

“ With the flat cakes in one hand and the bitten banana 
in the other, he set out, following the level sunbeams into 
the green grove. He knew just where he wanted to go, 
and trotted straight on until he came to an old tree. 

“ If it had been a that he was looking for, it was n’t 
much to see. It had n’t a green leaf on it, and only a few 
scraggly branches. But he was not a bird, nor a squirrel ; 
he was a Bee Baby. And considered as a bee-hive, it left 
nothing to wish for. There was the fine hollow trunk to 
store the honey ; and a round knot-hole near the ground, 
for the bees to pass in and out, all day long, in sunshiny 
weather. And that funny brown baby never seemed tired 
of watching them — hurrying off, and coming back dusty 
with pollen, and with masses of it in the pockets on their 
legs, or laden with clear, sweet honey. Sometimes a bee 
lit on his finger. Then the wise baby sat quite still, and 


THE BEE BABY 


1 1 1 


never brushed it off ; so he did n’t find out that it carried 
a needle in its tail — as sharp as its temper. (But he was 
careless about letting the dimple come in his cheek. It ’s 
a wonder the bees did n’t fly in, it was so deep and red and 
sweet.) 

“ When the baby came to the tree this morning, even 
he could see that something was different. The bees were 
not going about the business of the day — gathering 
honey — in their usual orderly fashion. No, indeed ! They 
were running in and out of the knot-hole, helter-skelter ; 
and such a humming as there was inside the tree ! 

“ He came close to the trunk to listen, and a gray cock- 
atoo sat on a tree near by and watched. And it ’s a pity 
there was no one else to see what a quaint little figure he 
was, with one arm clasping the tree-trunk, as far as it 
would go, with a cake still grasped in his chubby hand, 
and his ear pressed against the rough bark — listening — 
listening — 

“ ‘ Buzz-z-z-z,’ hummed the bees ; and the baby listened, 
with lips apart, — serious and wondering. 

“ Then that soulless cockatoo ‘ squawked ’ as if it were 
the funniest thing in the world, and swung herself, head 
down, around the branch where she had been sitting ; and 
then worked her way into the next tree, clutching the 


1 12 


STAR PEOPLE 


vines with beak or claw, squawking all the way. She had 
neither manners nor dignity ; and she was a grandmother, 
too. 

“ Her noise startled the Bee Baby so he toppled over ; 
but he did n’t mind, and sat where he fell, to finish his 
cake and to watch. 

“ The buzzing in the hive was louder now, and there 
were very few bees outside. Then — all at once — they 
began to come out in numbers, and flew wildly about be- 
fore they collected on a low branch near by. You can’t 
imagine how many there were — all in a dark cluster 
clinging to the vine. The baby never had seen anything 
like it, and his eyes were round with amazement. He got 
up from the hummock, to see more plainly. 

“ Perhaps because he disturbed them, as he came near, 
the whole mass rose together in the air, and flew up a 
natural path through the forest. And straight after them 
went the Baby ! 

“ But it was not a fair race; for they had wings to fly, 
and several thousand eyes apiece to see where they were 
going ; and he had only his two small feet to carry him, 
and his one pair of eyes to watch the bees. So he could n’t 
look where his feet were going ; and the next thing that 
happened — he tripped and fell on his nose. 


THE BEE BABY 


113 


“ It did n’t hurt him, and he picked himself up; but the 
bees were gone, and he could only follow on in the direc- 
tion they had flown. 

“ He was such a baby, it is n’t likely he even remem- 
bered what he was looking for ; but there were other things 
to see beside bees ; and a green forest, with birds and mon- 
keys and all kinds of little living creatures in it, is a fine 
place to be in. 

“ So he strayed on, amusing himself in his baby way, 
until he had gone really a considerable distance from the 
village, and was on a ridge of high land that ran up the 
mountain. 

“ Suddenly, something was the matter with the ground, 
and try as he would, he could n’t stand up on it — it was 
swaying — and the forest was full of strange noises ; and a 
black cloud covered the sun so that it grew dark all in a mo- 
ment. The great trees groaned and waved their branches, 
as if they too were trying to balance themselves on the 
rocking Earth. Those that were young and supple held 
their own ; but a few that were old and dry fell crashing, 
and carried others down in their fall. 

“ But though the trees cried and shrieked in their dis- 
tress and amazement, — and the monkeys and birds too, 
— the Bee Baby never made a sound. He lay pressed 


STAR PEOPLE 


114 

close against the ground in the awful darkness ; as chick- 
ens cower when the mother hen sees the hawk’s shadow, 
and sounds her warning to them. 

He was like a little frightened animal, too, when the 
rocking stopped, and the forest gradually grew quiet 
around him ; and he crept along the ground, through the 
green tangle, to where a tree had fallen against a cleft 
in the rocky ledge, carrying a mass of vines down with it, 
and making a sort of den or shelter. 

“ The brown baby crawled into the farthest corner, and 
huddled down close under the rock, to wait helplessly for 
whatever was to come.” 

The Princess paused. “ Poor little soul ! ” said Phyllisy. 
“ Please go on. Dearie.” And after a moment, she began 
to speak again : — 

“ Of course you know — though the Bee Baby did n’t 
— what was making all this disturbance; and if he hadn’t 
left home so early that morning, before his people were 
awake, they would n’t have forgotten all about him. But 
when they were awake, they found enough to think of in 
watching Xyntli. 

“ There stood the giant cone of the mountain, with the 
thin gray streak of her veil floating from the top. 

“ It looked very peaceful. 


THE BEE BABY 


115 


“ Suddenly — without further warning — Xyntli stood, 
straight and tall, in the top of the mountain, borne up on 
the servant-winds that live with her inside ! 

“ Her veil wrapped her from head to foot, and its loose 
folds were blown upward by the breath of the winds. Her 
hair streamed through its topmost folds like gleaming 
flames ; and the blue flashes that shot forth from the veil 
might have been the anger that flared in her blue eyes 
when she saw the outside of her mountain ! 

“ Now, for the snakes ! 

“She gave a strange, wailing cry — like the wind, or 
flames rushing up the black throat of the chimney — and 
down in the depths of the mountain her fiery serpents 
came writhing out of their caverns, obedient to her call. 
The blue cone and the whole countryside shuddered with 
their motion ; and as their hot breath scorched the inside 
of the mountain, thick black smoke arose like thunder- 
clouds, and blotted out the sun. Then the heads of the 
fiery monsters peered over the rim at the mountain’s top, 
and they came crawling, gliding down its sides. 

“ And the very fiercest, hungriest of them all was rush- 
ing straight to the village of bird-cage huts, nestling in the 
hollow upon the slope of the mountain ! 

“ It was a splendid sight — the mighty cone, purple in 


ii6 


STAR PEOPLE 


the midday darkness, with the green forest at its base, and 
the serpents, like rivers of fire, pouring down its sides. 
Smoke and flame rose, streaming upward, where they 
passed. 

“ And in the midst of the murky clouds, on the moun- 
tain-top, stood Xyntli, beautiful exceedingly, in her irides- 
cent, gray veil, with her glittering, red-gold hair. Swaying 
lightly on the shoulders of her servant-winds, waving her 
arms and crying, she urged on her fiery snakes, that were 
to restore her kingdom to her as she would have it — clean, 
smooth, unbroken ; — the pattern of a perfect mountain ! 

“ But the people in the village saw the terror, not the 
beauty; and they thought only of their flight from it. 

“ They huddled the babies and the old people who 
could n’t walk and their few poor possessions onto the ox- 
carts. Some of them tried to drive the spotted pigs before 
them ; and any one who has tried to drive one pig (a plain 
one at that) can imagine how much confusion it made 
when there were dozens and dozens. And it ’s not to be 
wondered at, that the aunts and the grandmother did n’t 
count correctly. So they did n’t miss the Bee Baby until 
they were far away; and the body of Xyntli’s hideous 
snake lay stretched across the blackened hollow where the 
little huts had stood in the green grove. 



THEY THOUGHT ONLY OF THEIR FLIGHT 







THE BEE BABY 


117 

“ There is a curious thing about a snake. It has a habit 
of slipping out of its skin, and squirming away, leaving 
the old one behind, looking quite like itself. 

“ Xyntli’s snakes were unusual in many ways ; but in 
this they certainly did something very like the rest of 
their tribe. When they had gone down the mountains and 
filled up the hollows with their bodies, their fiery hearts 
seemed to die out of them where they lay. One might 
think they were asleep, or dead ; but I believe it was only 
their cast-off skins they left behind, while the real snakes 
stole back into the mountain, to be ready when Xyntli 
wanted them again.” 

“ I believe it, too ; that 's what they did,” said Pat. 

“ If they did n’t, they would n’t be there always, when 
she called,” agreed Phyllisy. 

“ It seems so to me,” said the Princess. Then she took 
up the story again: “At last Xyntli stopped her wild 
motion and looked down on her mountain. 

“ The snakes had done their work well this time. There 
were no hollows left, and no green thing but one slender 
spur of forest, like a finger pointing up the slope, and 
that was hardly worth noticing. 

“The smoke was thin now, and blue. Xyntli stood, 
swaying softly on the mountain-top. Then she sank 


ii8 


STAR PEOPLE 


slowly, drawing her veil after her. Now she was nearly 
gone ; now, only a gleam of her red hair flickered against 
the sky ; now — she was quite gone — 

“When — suddenly she shot up, straight, towering 
above the cone, and flung a long fold of her veil wide 
over the land ; and from it fell a shower of fine powder, 
soft as snow, that filled all the cracks and crevices and 
covered the horrid bodies of the snakes, and choked every 
green thing left in its track. 

“ Then — as suddenly — Xyntli vanished ! and in her 
hollow mountain, slept once more.” 

The Princess’s voice died away in a hush that lasted a 
long moment, as if some one really were sleeping. 

Then Pat drew a deep breath : “ Well ! I should say ! For 
pitysakes ! I hope she ’s done mischief enough for once ! ” 

“ She did n’t mean it for mischief. She had to make the 
mountain clean, did n’t she. Dearie ? She could n’t help 
it if they were in the way,” said Miss Phyllisy, with the 
wise little mind the Princess loved in her, clear and fair 
and earnest. 

“ But she would n’t be sorry,” Pat insisted. 

“ No ; she went straight off to sleep,” Phyllisy admitted. 
“And that poor little baby! — We’re ready to go on, 
Dearie, whenever you ’re rested.” 


THE BEE BABY 


119 

And after a few minutes the Princess was ready also. 

“ There is n’t much that goes on on Mother Earth that 
the Star People don’t know about,” she began, whisking 
them away to Starland without any warning. “ On clear 
nights, when they are standing still to be looked at, they 
watch — and watch. And Old Sol keeps watch by day. So 
there is not much that escapes them : certainly not Xyntli 
and her naps, and particularly her wakings ! 

“She was a tantalizing person in this way: though they 
might look at her naps — that were nothing to see but 
a place ! — as much and as long as they liked, no sooner 
was she fairly awake than the clouds would gather thick, 
and the Star People had to seize every chance to look 
through chinks. Any one who had a good sight had to 
tell it over to the others, again and again. But they did 
have glimpses, and Sol too ; and after it was all over they 
could see what had been done. So they had a pretty clear 
idea of her and her actions.” 

Pat nodded her head, as if she had, too ; but she did n’t 
speak. 

“ When Xyntli vanished in her mountain the sky was 
full of heavy clouds ; so when night came the Star People 
stationed themselves wherever there seemed the chance 
for a tiny gap, through which they might look. 


120 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ Now, Old Sol dearly loved the Bee Baby ; and he had 
told the Zodiac People all about the quaint little child 
who was so happy by himself, in the sunshine, watching 
the bees. So the Star People understood just what An- 
dromeda meant when she exclaimed, from her chink in 
the cloud : — 

“ ‘ The Bee Baby is left all alone by himself in that 
strip of forest on the ridge ! ^ 

“ ‘ Are you thure ? I did n’t thee him,’ said Draco, at 
another chink. 

‘“You’re always Imagining things,’ said Orion. 

I did n’t imagine this,’ insisted Andromeda. ‘ The light 
from Lady Moon’s lantern shone through for a moment, 
and I saw him plainly — standing in front of a dark hole 
in the rock. Then he ran back, as if he were frightened.’ 

“ ‘ Well, I ’d like to know what his people are made of ! ’ 
said Cassiopeia. ‘ They don’t deserve to have a child, if 
they can’t take better care of him than that ! ’ 

“ ‘ Maybe they are n’t so bad,’ said Hercules. ‘ I don’t 
believe Xyntli asked ’em which way they ’d rather be 
chased out When they saw those snakes coming they 
had n’t any time to go back for stray babies ! I don’t mind 
snakes, myself, big or little, but I want ’em cold ! They 
are, too — mostly.’ 


THE BEE BABY 


I2I 


“‘Too what?’ asked Perseus. 

“ ‘ Cold/ answered Hercules ; ‘ toads, too.’ 

“ ‘ I thought you said you ’d rather have them cold ? ’ 

“ ‘ I would. And they are — mostly.’ 

“ ‘ Then why did you say they were ^oo cold ? ’ 

“ ‘ I did n’t. I want ’em that way. And they are, too.’ 

“ ‘ But you ’ — 

“ ‘ There ’s a conundrum about that,’ interrupted Orion. 
(He could n’t stand it, to have them go on arguing.) ‘ I ’ve 
forgotten what it is ; but the answer is : Because a hot 
snake is better than a cold hop.’ 

“ ‘ Why ! that is n’t it — at all! ’ said Andromeda. 

“ ‘ I should think you were all cold snakes and toads 
yourselves ! ’ broke in Cassiopeia, indignantly. ‘ Arguing 
like that, with that poor child all alone in the middle of 
desolation ! What do you propose to do about it ? ’ 

“ ‘ There is n’t anything we can do,’ said Cepheus. ‘ It 
is n’t our place.’ 

“ ‘ Xyntli is the one who ought to do something. She 
made all the trouble,’ said Andromeda. 

“ ‘ Don’t you be so silly,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘ This is a seri- 
ous matter.’ 

“ ‘ I thould n’t like her to bring up my child,’ said Draco. 
* The ’th too exthitable.’ 


122 


STAR PEOPLE 


“‘We can decide about yours when you have one!' 
said Cassiopeia. ‘ Now, who is going after that baby ? Be- 
cause I think they 'd better be starting.' 

“ ‘ What over the sun are you talking about ? ' asked 
Orion. ‘ Going where } ' 

‘“We are going to adopt that Bee Baby. If some one 
does n't start at once, I shall go myself I ’ 

“ ‘ Adopt the Bee Baby ! ' cried every one in chorus. 
They were too much astounded to say anything original ; 
they could only repeat her words — though they knew it 
was rude. 

“ ‘ That was what I said,' said Cassiopeia. 

But you canty said Orion. ‘ No one ever thought of 
doing such a thing. It is n't the Rule of the Sky.' 

“ ‘ Do you know any Rule that says we can't ' asked 
Cassiopeia. 

“ ‘ No,' answered Orion ; and that disposed of him. 

“‘How could you take care of him.?' asked Perseus. 
‘ He 'd keep getting lost ; and he might n’t like it.’ 

“ ‘ It 's a pity if I can't take care of one small child, and 
make him happy I ’ said Cassiopeia. ‘ I '11 learn.’ 

“ ‘ Would n't he just love to watch Sol’s bees I ’ said An- 
dromeda. ‘ It would be a good thing to have some one to 
watch them ; there ’s always such a fuss when they swarm.' 


THE BEE BABY 


123 


“‘Yeth, indeed!’ said Draco. ‘Don’t you remember 
latht time ? — when they got away when no one wath no- 
tithing, and every one thought they were a comet ? ’ 
“‘Yes,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘It might have made a great 
deal of trouble. I think we really need him. I 'm going 
now. Is any one coming with me.^^’ 

exclaimed Cepheus. ‘I forbid it! I am your 
husband, Cassiopeia ; and I will be obeyed ! ’ 

“ Every one looked at him — startled to hear him speak 
like that. He stood holding up his sceptre in a magnificent 
attitude, and looked absolutely majestic. Cassiopeia was 
too much astonished to speak for a moment, but Andro- 
meda slipped her fingers into his and laid her cheek 
against his shoulder ; and when he bent his head to listen 
to her pretty coaxing in his ear, his crown tilted a trifle, 
and he looked like his usual, cloudy-night self. So no one 
was surprised to hear him say : — 

“ ‘Yes, I suppose so. But your mother need n’t go.’ 

“ ‘ I ’ll go,’ said some one who had n’t spoken before. 

“ It was Lady Moon.” 

(“ Oh-h,” said the Others, softly, and very glad ; and the 
Princess smiled back at them.) 

“ The moment she spoke, the Star People felt every per- 
plexity smoothed away, and it all became simple and plain. 


124 


STAR PEOPLE 


There was n’t the slightest reason in the Heavens, why 
they should not take that lonely little baby for their own, 
to care for and to love. 

“ The clouds in piled-up masses lay low on Xyntli’s 
mountain ; and it was an easy matter for the Star People 
to follow Lady Moon down from level to level. When 
they reached the limit of the cloud-stairway, they could 
see once more ; how right it was that they should wait — 
their blazing glory hidden — while Lady Moon, her lantern 
darkened, should slip unseen down the bare shoulder of 
the mountain, to the strip of forest, left like a dark finger 
pointing up the slope. 

“ Ah, but think of a helpless, frightened little child — 
only two years and a scrap over — alone in a dark cave 
in that awful desolation ! 

“ How must he have felt — that little Bee Baby — when, 
suddenly, a soft light shone into the cave, and he looked 
into the face of the loveliest of ladies, who was holding 
her lantern so that it disclosed to her — huddled into the 
farthest corner of the cave — a small brown heap. Only 
the eyes, like a little frightened animal’s, looking out of 
it, showed that it was alive. 

“ And the baby ? 

“ When he looked into that pitying face, and saw the 





HIS WONDERING EYES LOOKED FROM LADY MOON’S SHOULDER 



I 


1 


THE BEE BABY 


125 


tender arms held out to him, his own went out in answer; 
and then he was held close — nestled like a young bird or 
a tired baby — as he was — in the shelter of that loving 
breast. 

“ Then, what baby king had ever such a royal progress 
as that brown little child ? 

“ His wondering eyes looked from Lady Moon’s shoulder, 
as she carried him up the stately stairway of mass upon 
mass of cloud, whose lowest step was the mighty mountain, 
and whose highest led to the measureless Heavens ! And 
grouped along its heights were the radiant Star People, 
whose splendors might have frightened him if their faces 
had not been so kind with loving welcome. All those of 
whom we have talked, and many more, assembled to wel- 
come one little helpless child. 

“ It was worth it, to see his eyes shine and the happy 
dimple come in his cheek. He clasped one arm, tight, 
around Lady Moon’s neck, and stretched out the other to 
these new friends, without a trace of fear. Why should he 
be afraid ? Had n’t he loved the shining sun, and all beau- 
tiful things, his whole two years of life? 

“ So he listened to the song Lady Moon sang low to 
him ; and as they passed along, the Star People caught the 
refrain, and took it up : — 


126 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ The sorrow is over ; 

Thy Star life 's begun. 

Hear the golden bees humming 
For joy at thy coming, 

Oh, little Bee Baby, 

Dear child of the Sun ! 

“ Listen ! ” said the Princess. 

There was a sound, very small and clear and silvery: — 
One — two — three — four — and One more ! 

And that was a Bewitchment ! Everybody must vanish 
at once ! 


VII 


LADY MOON’S LANTERN 



N the terrace there was a Pergola — 
that was two rows of white columns 
with criss-cross bars overhead and 
vines growing over it. There were 
built-in seats between the columns, 
but there were always chairs besides. 

There was no one in it. Down below, in the garden, 
there were Shapes flitting about in the dusk. They came 
up out of it, to the Pergola, all together; and they were 
the Princess and the Others. 

A large spider was spinning down, with a clear yellow 


128 


STAR PEOPLE 


sky behind it, at the far end of the Pergola. They were 
obliged to watch it. It dropped and sprung, elastic, on the 
end of its thread — then dropped — and sprung ; and then 
it clawed up again, working its legs. They could see them 
distinctly against the sky, though it was quite a distance 
away. Out at their end, the sky was cool, with a white 
moon in it ; so there were two kinds of shadows : large, 
blurred ones from the last daylight; and in them, moon- 
shadows of the vines on the long white seats and on the 
floor and down one side of the Princess’s dress — sitting in 
a chair. The moon-shadows were very faint, but they were 
a clear pattern, and the daylight shadows had no edges; 
soon there would be only moon. It was very interesting. 

And the slide of Lady Moon’s lantern was about three 
quarters open. 

“Was n’t it lovely she took him ? ” said Phyllisy. “ I ’d 
rather she than anybody else.” 

“ But it stopped short,” said Pat. 

“ That was a proper end of a story, with everybody 
happy,” said the Princess. “ You would n’t want any more 
than that, would you ? ” 

“ The people were n’t, with the houses and everything 
spoiled.” 

“ But they built new ones, very quickly. It does n’t take 


LADY MOON’S LANTERN 


129 


long to build a house like a bird-cage. They drove the 
loaded ox-carts only a little way down the slope of the 
mountain ; and before you could think, there was a new 
village just like the old, and everything was just as it was 
before. The brown babies and the spotted pigs ran and 
tumbled about, and the women went right on grinding 
corn to make more and more flat cakes ; but they did n’t 
do much housework or sewing, and everybody slept a good 
deal in the midday heat ; then when the cool evening came 
they gathered together to visit comfortably, while the chil- 
dren played about in the moonlight.” 

“ Like us ? ” asked the Kitten. 

Like us,” said the Princess. “ Only you are n’t playing 
about; you are listening to more story.” 

“ Oh, is it more ? ” asked Pat. 

“ A tiny bit,” said the Princess. And the Others wriggled 
down into their places to listen quite differently from the 
way they listened when it was conversation. She began to 
speak in a still voice: — 

“ So it was one night when the full, round moon shone, 
silver-bright above the treetops. One of the women sat a 
little apart, and watched it soaring among the stars. And 
as she looked, it seemed to her it was not quite round ; a 
tiny slice was gone from one edge. 


130 


STAR PEOPLE 


‘"'See the moon!’ she called to the others, pointing 
upward. 

“ They gathered near ; and as they watched it, the dark 
shadow crept forward, across the face of the moon. 

“ ‘ What is it ? ’ asked the children. 

I know not,’ said the old grandmother. ‘ It comes so 
at times ; but never have I seen it like this. Before, it has 
covered the whole moon, or gone over one edge — like a 
great shadow. But this is round, like a dark ball, and small. 
See, the moon shows around it.’ 

“ It was as she said : a thin thread of light, like a silver 
ring, almost surrounded the dark something that came 
between their eyes and the moon. 

“Tt is just like the Bee Baby!’ said one of the chil- 
dren. * Don’t you remember how round his little head 
was ? ’ 

“ ‘ I wonder what became of him,’ said another. 

“ ' Perhaps he ’s there — in the sky,’ said a third. 

But the grandmother said : ‘You are foolish children. 
He is dead. Xyntli’s snakes could tell — ’ 

“ Wise children know when to stop arguing with older 
people about things that only children understand. So they 
said no more to the grandmother, but drew away, and 
talked and whispered to each other — while the small round 



THE SMALL ROUND SHADOW PASSED ON ACROSS THE BRIGHT 

LANTERN OF THE MOON 







LADY MOON’S LANTERN 


131 

shadow passed on, across the bright lantern of the moon, 
and left it clear once more.” 

“ But it was truly the Bee Baby,” said Pat. “ And now 
they could know what became of him.” 

“ What did he do to the moon ? ” asked the Kitten, be- 
cause she did n’t exactly understand. 

“ What do you think about this .? ” asked the Princess. 
“ If a little child — so tall ” — she showed, with her hand 
— “ follows a beautiful lady with a lantern hung on her 
arm, don’t you think, once in a great while, his round little 
head might come in the way, and interfere with its light } ” 

“It did. That was it,” said the Kitten comfortably. 

Then, with Lady Moon throwing leaf patterns and white 
light down upon them, and the whole world very still, the 
Princess told them a song : — 

“ Who loves to follow wherever you roam, 

Lady Moon ? ” 

“ Bee Baby.” 

“ Is he happy in Starland ? — so far from his home ? ” 

“ He may be. 

“ Over Milky-Way meadows 
Fly the bees, living gold ; 

There he strays, blessed Lamb, 

Safe, with love for his fold.” 


132 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ Who comes to nestle so close in your arm, 

Lady Moon ? ” 

“ Bee Baby.’^ 

“ Is he falling asleep, to a Starland lullaby’s charm ? ” 
“ Hush — he may be ! ” 


VIII 

ANDROMEDA^S BIRTHDAY 



the Kitten sang, over and over, making different tunes 
each time. She sang it softly, to herself, but it was loud 
enough to be heard. 


“ Dear-my-soul ! ” said the Princess. “Whatever will 
happen when you're a seven-year-longlegs, 'stead of six.? 
Skeeters, you know." 

The Kitten stopped singing and rubbed her leg where 
there were lumpy spots above her socks. 

“She 'll have stockings when they get too long," said Pat. 
“ And the next thing we know, she 'll begin to be a Cat ! 
Why don't you have birthdays like the Star People’s .? " 


134 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ What kind ? ” asked the Kitten. 

“ Steady and reliable,” said the Princess. “ Everybody is 
exactly the right age to begin, and then they never grow 
any older.” 

“ But they are different ages,” Pat objected. 

“ The right age for themr the Princess explained. 
“ Have n’t you noticed that they were } ” 

The Others thought about it for a minute, and decided 
that they could n’t very well be different. 

“ But if they are always going along the same, perhaps 
they would n’t notice their birthdays,” said Phyllisy. 

“ Indeed, they would,” said the Princess, earnestly. 
“ They’re particularly good about remembering dates and 
anniversaries and times of the year. And they’d never 
think of letting a birthday go by without noticing it.” 

“Would they have a party.?” asked the Kitten. 

“ They do usually. Do you think it would help you 
along a little through one of those nine days, to hear about 
one of them .? ” 

And the Kitten seemed to think it would. 

“ Whose birthday is it going to be.?” asked Pat. 

“ Andromeda’s, the same year that the Sailor’s Star was 
stolen; and Orion gave the party. You remember the young 
meteors that he had planted were just coming up in his 


ANDROMEDA’S BIRTHDAY 


135 


garden when Cassiopeia came to tell him what a misfortune 
had happened ? All those same young plants had kept on 
growing and growing, unusually well, and Orion was as 
proud of them as a comet with two tails. They promised 
to be ripe just in time for Andromeda’s birthday, and he 
said he would like to give the party.” 

“To eat them?” asked Pat. 

“ Never ! ” said the Princess. “ I thought you knew about 
meteors: when they are exactly ripe you give them a bit 
of a pinch. Pop! goes a beautiful starlet with a trail of 
gold-dust behind it.” 

“ Fireworks,” said the Kitten. 

“ That ’s the way a balsam seed pops,” said Phyllisy. 

“ Yes, it reminds me of it,” agreed the Princess. “ When 
they are ripe one has to be very careful not to hit them, 
or they go off too soon. Orion would n’t even pick off a 
leaf or pull up a weed, he was being so careful to save 
every one for the birthday celebration; and how he did 
have to watch the dogs, to keep them out! 

“The night before, it was partly cloudy, and Orion 
almost drove Cassiopeia wild, dodging about behind the 
drifting clouds, making his last arrangements. Little Bear, 
too. It seemed as if he were possessed, he who was always 
so quiet and steady — ‘ The best Little Bear that ever hap- 


STAR PEOPLE 


136 

pened ! ’ Andromeda used to say, when she gave him a 
bear-hug, and then rubbed his soft fur the wrong way, from 
his tail clear down his nose, to feel the tingles and see the 
sparks fly. But no sooner had they begun to talk about 
her birthday than he began to be excited ; and this last 
night it seemed as if he could not keep still. Whenever a 
cloud lay so that he could, he would go clear to the edge 
of it to watch Orion. Once, Cassiopeia could scarcely 
believe her eyes : there was Orion, talking to Lady Moon 
behind the clouds ; then she saw Little Bear crowding in 
between them, looking up at them eagerly. Orion was too 
much engrossed to notice him, but Cassiopeia called at the 
top of her voice (and it was a very high top) , ‘ Come here 
this minute, Little Bear ! I should think you were crazy ! ^ 

“ He heard her, and came prancing back, zigzag, as fast 
as he could dodge from cloud to cloud. When he was back 
in his place, barely in the nick of time, his eyes almost 
twinkled out of his head, and his fur shone so that Cassi- 
opeia could hardly see his stars. She could n’t help laugh- 
ing, though she was annoyed. It was bad enough for 
Orion to dodge around like that ; but his legs were so long 
he could get back to his place always before the clouds 
floated off. 

“The next night no one could have asked for better 


ANDROMEDA’S BIRTHDAY 


137 


star-weather, just plain clouds, not a jumpy kind to keep 
them wondering every half-hour what it was going to do. 

“ A little before midnight the Star People began to come 
to the party. Orion was the first to arrive, then Hercules 
and Draco.” 

“Not Little Bear.?” asked the Kitten. 

“He was there without arriving — Andromeda and 
Cepheus and Cassiopeia and Perseus and Little Bear. 
Very soon there was such a noise and chattering down 
the Sky that one might have thought a whole flock of 
magpies was coming : but Orion and Draco and Cassio- 
peia knew better, and magpies don’t squeal and giggle 
quite like that. 

‘“Jutht hear thothe Pleiadeth girlth,’ said Draco. ‘I 
don’t thee how any one can be tho thilly.’ 

“ ‘ That ’s because you never were a girl,’ said Cepheus. 
At that, Andromeda began to giggle too ; and the more 
she tried to stop, the harder she giggled. 

“ ‘ Now, what ’th the matter with her? ’ asked Draco. 

“ And then Andromeda squealed, and laughed so she 
choked, and Perseus had to thump her on the back, while 
she gasped : ' To think of Draco’s being a g-gu-girl ! — Oh!' 

‘“She’s one, all right,’ remarked Orion, ‘and here are 
the others.’ 


STAR PEOPLE 


138 

“ Maybe they were silly, but the seven Misses Pleiades 
certainly were pretty to look at as they came in sight. 
Their gowns were of thin golden gauze, with a multitude 
of tiny stars woven into the underdress ; their interlacing 
beams made a pattern, like gold embroidery, and they 
shimmered faintly through the mist-like tissue that veiled 
them. 

“ They wore no other stars but one above the forehead. 
The stars of six of the sisters were very brilliant, but the 
seventh was puzzling. When one gave a quick glance and 
looked away one could see the star quite plainly; but 
when one looked directly at her it was gone ! It was like 
the place where a star had been. This sister’s name was 
Merope, and her eyes were so sweet and gentle that the 
people who loved her never missed the star from her soft 
brown hair. 

“ The tallest of the sisters, whose name was Maia, came 
ahead (as much as any one could be ahead where they all 
walked in a bunch!), and she called to Orion: 'Oh, 
were n’t you mean I Why did n’t you wait for us ? ’ 

Did n’t you hear us calling you?’ cried Taygeta. 

“‘We thought we’d be late,’ said Electra (no one 
thought of waiting for an answer), ‘ Taygeta kept us wait- 
ing so.’ 


ANDROMEDA’S BIRTHDAY 


139 


“‘I never!’ said Taygeta. ‘It was Alcyone!’ Then 
they all looked at each other and giggled again, and 
Andromeda giggled with them, where she and Merope 
stood with their arms around each other’s waists. It was 
a giggling match, and Cepheus and Cassiopeia and Orion 
and Hercules and Perseus and Draco and Castor and 
Pollux — ” 

“ The Zodiacs ? ” asked Phyllisy. 

“Yes, the Gemini Brothers.” 

“Did Sol let them.?” asked Pat. 

“ Of course, for a party. They came just after the 
Pleiades girls. They all looked at the gigglers, and they 
smiled because they were young and pretty, and they 
seemed to know what they were laughing at, but the 
others could n’t guess what it was, to save them ! ” 

“Weren’t they silly.?” said Pat. “ But we do it, too.” 

“ And quite big girls — much bigger than we,” added 
Phyllisy. 

“ Even worse, Miss Phyllisy. I ’ve noticed it,” said the 
Princess. 

“Finally Cepheus said: ‘You might as well go home, 
Orion. These girls don’t want a party to-night.’ 

“‘Oh, yes, we do!’ they cried. ‘Only Taygeta — ’ 
Then they were off again. 


140 


STAR PEOPLE 


‘“Come, come ! ’ said Cassiopeia. ‘ Just pretend you have 
a little sense ! ' 

“ ‘ Draco has ! ' cried Andromeda. '‘He never was a girl ! ’ 

“ Then everybody laughed together — Draco, and all ; 
and when they were quieted down they were ready to 
begin the party. 

“ Andromeda and Perseus took Little Bear and went 
off a little way, while Orion placed the other Star People 
in two lines that led up to Cassiopeia’s Chair. She and 
Cepheus stood at the head of the lines, on either side of 
the chair. And then they began to sing Andromeda’s 
Birthday Song : — 

“ The stars sang together at the little maiden’s birth ; 

They watched her through the years 
Of gladness and of tears ; 

And they said : ‘ She ’ll come to dwell with us when she shall 
leave the Earth. 

“ ‘ She shall bring an earthly blessing in which we have no part ; 

We can only shine by night, 

When the sun has sunk from sight ; 

She shall bring the sunshine with her — though it *s hidden in 
her heart ! ’ 

“ A thousand, thousand greetings to the maiden, ever young ! 

As the years the birthdays bring, 

The stars together sing 

The praise of maid the sweetest whose praise was ever sung ! 


ANDROMEDA’S BIRTHDAY 141 

“As the Star People sang, Perseus led Andromeda 
slowly up to them. Little Bear walked ahead ; and he was 
so proud and, at the same time, so excited, that he hardly 
knew whether he wanted to walk in a very dignified way, 
or to prance and dance. The consequence was, he did 
both. Every few steps, he made a funny little skip ; then 
he was so embarrassed to think he had done it that he ’d 
rub his paw over his nose, and almost tip over, because he 
was walking along all the time. 

“ How they did laugh at him ! all but Andromeda; she 
looked very serious and grave, because it was a Ceremony. 
As she walked, with her hand in Perseus’, between her 
friends to the chair where her father and mother stood 
waiting for her, she was so sweet and modest and stately 
— like a little queen — that np one who saw her could 
have helped loving her. 

“ There was no doubt how Cepheus and Cassiopeia felt 
about it, when she stopped before them, and Perseus and 
Little Bear stepped back; then she clasped her hands 
and recited, in her clear, fresh voice, her little verse : — 

With heartfelt joy and thankfulness, 

I come to you, that you may bless 
Your happy child to-day. 

You, whom I owe all reverence 
And love and prompt obedience, 

Accept them now, I pray ! 


142 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ A father-and-mother kiss on one’s birthday is n’t the 
gayest part of it, but we know it ’s the best — don’t we, 
Kitten ? — and Andromeda is the only Star Person who 
can have it That is one reason why they love to keep her 
birthday ; it can be so complete. 

“Cassiopeia and Cepheus placed Andromeda in the 
great chair, and the Star People came, one by one, and 
knelt and kissed her hand, then fastened a star-daisy in 
her hair — they kissed her pretty pink cheek too, when 
they had done it ; but that was just love and extra, not 
part of the ceremony; so they made her a beautiful crown, 
and she looked more like a queen than ever. 

“ When this was over she stepped down from the chair 
and took Perseus’ hand, and, with Little Bear ahead once 
more, they went down the Sky. Orion followed with Maia ; 
then Castor and Taygeta, and Pollux and Alcyone. Her- 
cules took Merope, because she was so gentle and never 
laughed at him. That left three of the Pleiades girls, — 
Electra, Celeno, and Sterope, — but Draco said : ‘ That ’th 
all right. I gueth I can walk with three girlth. I ’m long 
enough ! ’ How they squealed and giggled ! But that was 
the way they arranged it; and Cepheus and Cassiopeia 
came at the end of the procession.” 

“ Where was it going .? ” asked Pat. 


ANDROMEDA’S BIRTHDAY 


143 


“ First, they were going all around the Zodiac to carry 
greetings to the people who were shut up. They always 
did it on birthdays, and they liked that part, but it took a 
good while, and this time Orion was impatient to have it 
over. He wanted to have them come to his especial share 
of the party. 

“ And at last they came in sight of his garden ; and 
Little Bear skipped the funniest prance yet, when he saw 
what was waiting for them. This was what Orion was 
talking about the night before, to Lady Moon.” The 
Princess stopped just long enough to let the Others 
wonder what it could be. 

“A moonbow,” began the Princess, and the Others 
said, “ Oh-h!” 

“ A moonbow,” she repeated, “ is n’t so gayly colored as 
a rainbow, but it is shinier, and the most delightful thing 
you can imagine, to sit on, to see a meteor party. And 
kind Lady Moon stood with her lantern behind the edge 
of a cloud, so that the light should n’t interfere with the 
meteors, and held the bow steady, exactly in the best 
place. 

“ Cassiopeia declared she never could walk up ; but she 
did — to the top, and sat down, with Little Bear cuddled 
up by her side with his toes straight out in front of him, 


STAR PEOPLE 


144 

between her and Andromeda. The others settled them- 
selves on either side — all except Hercules and Draco. 
Draco would have taken too much room ; and Hercules 
said : — 

“ ‘ I guess I ’ll stay here. If that cloud should happen to 
flop around, that thing would go out like winkin’. I ’ve 
seen ’em do it.’ 

“ The Pleiades girls shrieked, and pretended they were 
coming down ; and Draco said : ‘ Never mind. I ’ll catth 
you if it meltth.’ 

‘“You sit still,’ said Orion. ‘ That moonbow is there to 
stay. Lady Moon and I know about that.’ But they never 
meant to get down ; they only liked to make a fuss. — 
What is it. Kitten ? ” The Princess could tell, by the way 
she wriggled, when she wanted to know something. 

She held her foot tight and rocked on her tucked-under 
leg when she asked it: “Was the Bee Baby too young to 
invite? ” 

“ He would have been rather young for a party ; but 
that was n’t the reason he did n’t come. This birthday was 
before there was any Bee Baby. Little Bear was the only 
child they had.” 

“ All right,” said the Kitten. “ Then what did they do? ” 

“ At last, when they were all settled on the moonbow, 


ANDROMEDA^S BIRTHDAY 145 

Orion went into his garden. He stooped over one of the 
bushes, very carefully, lest he should rub against some of 
the others, and gave just the right kind of a pinch, — then, 
‘ Ah-h,’ said the Star People, as a lovely meteor flew up — 
up, over their heads, leaving a little trail of gold-dust be- 
hind it. 

“ That was the beginning ; and Orion had good reason 
to be proud of his garden, for each meteor seemed lovelier 
than the last. They couldn’t decide whether the blue 
ones were prettier than the red or the green; or those that 
flew in straight lines than those that flew in spirals, they 
were all so beautiful. 

“ So it went on with hardly a mishap. Almost every 
meteor was just ripe, and Orion joggled only two so that 
they went off too soon ; and he had come to the last two 
bushes. They stood side by side and were the finest in 
the garden ; that was why he had saved them for the last. 

“ ‘ What are those dogs after ? ’ asked Cepheus. Orion 
had left them with Sagittarius, in the Zodiac, for fear of 
accidents. 

“ ‘ Where ? ’ called Orion, who could n’t see from the 
garden, so well as they from the moonbow. 

“ ‘ There they come,’ said Cassiopeia, and they all craned 
their necks to see. 


146 


STAR PEOPLE 


“‘Yap! yap!* cried the dogs, and on they came; and 
just ahead of them — barely out of reach — was — ? A 
comet, of course ! What else could it be ? It was only a 
scrap of a comet, with a stub of a tail, and how it was 
scrabbling along! 

“ It was heading straight by, when it saw Orion stand- 
ing by his meteor bushes ; and what did that bad, mis- 
chievous little comet do, but turn square off, with a flirt 
of his saucy tail under the dogs’ noses, and make directly 
for the two bushes ! Straight after it came the dogs — 
and three Orions could n’t have stopped them, they hated 
a comet so — and rip — smash ! they ran right through 
the bushes, and thirty meteors at once flew up in one 
splendid blaze ! 

“ Orion’s first thought was that it was a misfortune, and 
spoiled the end of his party. But Cassiopeia said, as soon 
as she could get her breath : ‘ I think that was perfectly 
splendid ! And you never would have had the heart to send 
them all off at once, like that ! ’ 

“ ‘Yes, indeed ! ’ said every one else ; and Orion thought 
so, too.” 

“ I ’d rather,” said Pat. “ Would n’t you ? ” 

“ Much rather,” agreed the Princess. “Who would choose 
deliberately to have a party fizzle out, when it might go in 





THREE ORIONS COULD N’T HAVE STOPPED THEM 






ANDROMEDA’S BIRTHDAY 


147 

a blaze of glory ? It was time to go home, anyway ; so 
they climbed down from the moonbow. 

“ ‘ Oh, has n’t this been the loveliest party we ever had ? ’ 
said Andromeda. 

‘“Yes, it has,* said Merope. ‘And I know who has en- 
joyed it more than anybody.* 

“‘Who?* 

“ ‘ Little Bear.* 

“ Andromeda turned and dropped on her knees beside 
him to give him a hug, and his eyes twinkled like stars. 

“ ‘ Bless his little heart ! * said Cassiopeia. ‘ I wish we 
could keep his birthday, but nobody knows when it is.* 

“ ‘ But we love him just the same ! * said Andromeda, rub- 
bing his fur the wrong way and ending with a little shake 
of his nose — and the sparks flew as if he were a garden 
of meteors himself. And that was really the end of the 
party.** 

The Kitten had something in her mind to do at once 
when she was perfectly sure the party was over. For that 
very minute when the Princess came to the end and Pat 
and Miss Phyllisy began to talk about it, she slipped her 
foot out from under her to have it ready to walk on. And 
the next minute, when Phyllisy looked around to see why 


148 


STAR PEOPLE 


the child was n’t talking too, when it was rather especially 
her story, she was already starting away — and she did n’t 
care to tell what for. 

Because they wondered, and they knew she would n’t 
mind — it was only that she didn’t like to explain — 
they followed after. When she was clear away, the Kitten 
began to run, so when they came to the place in the gar- 
den where the balsams grew all in a row, she was there 
and had found a ripe one. 

There were very few flowers left, and a great many seed- 
pods, and when they pinched them at the tip — or only 
barely touched them — they popped delightfully, but there 
did n’t any star shoot out. 

But they pretended there did; and — as Miss Phyllisy 
remarked — you couldn’t see actual fireworks if you set 
them off with the sun shining like that. 


IX 

A SURPRISE PARTY 



T seemed to the Others that the Prin- 
^ cess was a long time coming. And 
once they had been afraid they 
would n’t be ready in time. But they 
too soon, and it was the 
watching that made it seem so long. 
Theyyf^a/ when they saw her, and hurried her along. 

“ It ’s something to surprise you,” said Miss Phyllisy. 
“We did it all this morning,” added Pat. 

‘ Thought of it and gathered them and everything,” 
chattered the Kitten, walking on all sides of them. 

Don t you tell,” warned Pat’s eyebrows. 


STAR PEOPLE 


150 

“You couldn’t guess, could you?” asked the Kitten. 

“Now stop; from here,” said Phyllisy, “shut your eyes 
and we ’ll lead you so you won’t see too soon.” 

So the Princess shut her eyes, and Pat and Phyllisy led 
her and the Kitten went ahead over the lawn until they 
said, “ Now, open I ” 

Directly before them was the great wicker chair from 
the piazza, sitting under a tree. But nobody would have 
known it was that chair at all — so trimmed and flowery. 

There were pink and purple and white ones from the 
garden, and tall plumes of small feathery ones, that were 
wild ones, nodding on the back, and all lovely. 

“Do you notice what they are?” asked Phyllisy. “We 
would n’t have any other kind.” 

“ Do you know why we had that kind ? ” asked Pat. 

“ They ’re stars ! ” cried the Kitten. 

“ Because you said ‘ asters ’ meant stars,” said Phyllisy. 

“ And it ’s Cassiopeia’s ! — For you ! ” they all finished. 
“ Do you like it ? ” 

And the Princess reached around and gathered them 
all into one four-sided hug, because how she loved it she 
couldn’t otherwise tell. And Cassiopeia’s never had a 
quarter so many stars. “We didn’t leave one in the 
garden, — large enough to pick,” said Pat. 


A SURPRISE PARTY 


151 

“ That ’s where you ’re going to sit to tell the story,” 
said the Kitten. 

“ And when you ’re ready, we ’ll lead you up to it, and 
make ‘ salaams,’ ” said Miss Phyllisy. 

When she had admired more particularly the way they 
had done it, she was ready, and they went off to the next 
tree to come back properly, Pat and Miss Phyllisy leading 
the Princess, and the Kitten holding up her gown behind. 

Then the Princess turned around and stood in front of 
the chair, and the Others stood facing her in a row. 

“ Salaam alekum,” said the Princess, bowing very low 
and saluting with her down-dropped hand from her feet, 
to her heart, to her forehead, in two scallops. 

“ Alekum essalaam,” replied the Others, saluting the 
same to her. 

And to the Princess and Miss Phyllisy and the Kitten 
it was a kind of game they played, but it was not play at 
all to Pat. Even the little children said, “ My compliments 
to you,” like that, where she came from. 

“ This story begins with Perseus and Andromeda sit- 
ting in a favorite place of theirs, where three tall poplars 
grow on the bank of the Starland River,” the Princess 
announced when she had taken her seat. 


152 STAR PEOPLE 

“ The three sisters that were changed into them ? 
asked Phyllisy. 

The Princess nodded. “ Must have been.” 

“ Is it a real river ? ” asked Pat. “ Like any river ? ” 

“ Like all the most beautiful rivers in the world in one, 
only changed into star-meanings — fireflies winking among 
the reeds, and fairy trees along the banks, with strange glow- 
ing fruit and blossoms on their shadowy branches. The 
poplars carry theirs proudly on their tops, like a crown.” 

“It’s something Beyond, isn’t it. Dearie — to under- 
stand just what it’s like,” suggested Phyllisy, “you have 
to know it inside, and stop.” 

“ That ’s the only way,” said the Princess. “ It ’s gone 
in the telling — like fairy gold when you touch it. But the 
river was there in Starland, and there were Perseus and 
Andromeda having a cosy talk. 

“ ‘ What do you suppose ails Little Bear, to make him 
act so ? ’ said she. 

“ ‘ How does he act ? ’ asked Perseus. 

I don’t see how you could have helped noticing him. 
It ’s ever since my birthday. He hops when he walks, and 
looks so important ; and lately he has taken to going off 
by himself — nobody knows where. I believe he’s planning 
something.’ 


A SURPRISE PARTY 


153 


“ ‘ Let ’s watch him, and find out what it is/ 

“‘Yes. That’s what I spoke about it for. But we 
must n’t let him guess we are watching. It would spoil 
his fun.’ 

“ ‘ Of course not,’ said Perseus. 

“ A few nights later, Perseus beckoned mysteriously to 
Andromeda. She was listening to old Aquarius. She often 
went to visit him, and it pleased him even more than it 
bored her, so she liked to do it. 

“ But when she saw Perseus, she made her escape as 
quickly as she could, and came to him. 

“‘What is it.?’ she whispered. 

“ ‘ Little Bear has just gone again. I saw him coming 
toward Orion’s garden. Orion was there, and Little Bear 
pretended he was going by — not anywhere in particular. 
Then Orion came out of the garden and went toward 
Sagittarius’ House, and Little Bear turned in, quick as a 
wink, and went through and on — down the Milky Way.’ 

“ ‘ Come, quick ! ’ said Andromeda. ‘ Are you sure you 
know which way he went .? ’ 

“‘ Yes. We ’ll find him easily enough.’ 

“ Orion had come back to his garden, but they were in 
such haste they did n’t even see that he was there. He 


154 


STAR PEOPLE 


watched them whisk through, and as they were going out 
at the farther side, he called to them : ‘ Did you come to 
see me ? ' 

“ ‘ No,* answered Perseus. ‘What makes you think we 
did.?* 

“ ‘ Because you are in my garden.* 

“ ‘ We are n’t now,* said Andromeda over her shoulder 
— pushing Perseus ahead of her. ‘You don’t mind, do 
you .? ’ 

“ ‘ No. Only you might say good-evening.* 

“ ‘ We do,* she called. ‘ But we can’t stop now.* 

“So she and Perseus ran on, and before long they 
caught sight of Little Bear. They crept cautiously nearer, 
where they could watch him unseen. He was hunting for 
something. 

“ ‘ What do you suppose it is ? * whispered Andromeda. 

“ ‘ I can’t make out — wait — there ! What ’s that he ’s 
found.?* 

“ ‘It’s a meteor bush,* said she. 

“Little Bear stopped by the bush — looked at it — 
looked around him; then he trotted on — hunting for 
something. 

“ They watched him find another bush — and another ; 
and each time look back and forth. It was very mysterious. 



LITTLE BEAR STOPPED BY THE BUSH 



r 


\ 


I 


I 




I 

.1 

l 

i 

> 


1 

* 



i 

! 

It. 

( 


J 

■ 

< 

I 

1 


1 

( 

< 

f 


( 

1 

g 

1 

.1 


I 

1 

I 

i 

-I 

< 


I 

I 


t 


I 

I 

\ 


.1 


< 

■ 

0 


i 




t 



155 


A SURPRISE PARTY 

He is fixing the places in his mind, so that he can 
come back to them again ! ’ exclaimed Andromeda. 

‘“That’s it,’ agreed Perseus. ‘ I wonder what for.’ 

‘“We ’ll find out. — Be careful ! He ’s coming home.’ 

“ They kept close until Little Bear had trotted by them 
and was out of sight. Then they went themselves to ex- 
amine the bushes. But that did n’t help them to under- 
stand. They were the ordinary kind of wild meteors that 
never grow very large; and they were still quite green. 

“ So they gave up puzzling about it, and went back to 
be civil to Orion. But when he wanted to know why they 
were in such a hurry, they were so mysterious he thought 
they had a secret ; and he never guessed that the secret 
was Little Bear’s, and one reason why they would n’t tell 
was because they did n’t know it themselves ! 

“ They began to think they never were going to know, 
for Little Bear did n’t go off again and gave them no 
chance to find out.” 

“ I thought I knew, once,” said Miss Phyllisy. “ But I 
don’t know so well now. Can you guess, Pat ? ” 

Pat shook her head. “ No. But she ’ll tell us.” And the 
Princess went on to tell them, in her own way : — 

‘‘ Cepheus awoke one night, the first of the Star People. 
As he turned his head quickly, something bobbed against 


STAR PEOPLE 


156 

his forehead ; and he could see — out of the tail of his 
eye — something dangling that moved when he did. He 
took off his crown and looked at it. There was a rather 
wilted green meteor tucked into it. He knew he did n’t 
put it there himself, but he did n’t take it out, and while 
he was thinking about it, Draco woke. 

“ He gave his wings a flap to see that the joints worked 
right, and something fell out of the fold of one of them. 
What should it be but a little green meteor with a very 
short stem ! 

That ’th funny,’ he said. Then he stuck it on one of 
the sharp prongs of his wing, and came over to Cepheus. 

“ ‘ Thee what I ’ve got,’ he said. 

“ ‘ So have I,’ said Cepheus. ‘ Where did they come 
from ? ’ 

“ ‘ Maybe it ’th a joke. Do you thuppoth any one elth 
hath them } — I ’m going to look.’ 

“ ‘ Cathiopeia hath ! ’ he called, in a whisper. ‘ Right on 
the arm of her chair bethide her.’ 

“ Cepheus was perfectly willing to have some one else 
do the running about ; so he waited, and in a few minutes 
Draco came back to him. 

“‘Every thingle perthon around here hath one,’ he 
said. ‘ Herculeth’ ith thtuck into the crook of hith thumb 


A SURPRISE PARTY 


157 

where he’th holding hith club; and Pertheuth' hath two 
thnakes twithted around it on hith Gorgon’th head.’ 

“ But the time was gone by to discuss it quietly, for 
Cassiopeia was awake. By chance, her meteor was the first 
thing her eye rested upon. 

“ ‘ What is that ? ’ she said to herself, and picked it up. 
‘ I ’d like to know where that came from. See here ! ’ she 
called to Cepheus, and her voice began to sound excited. 
‘ Look at that ! ’ 

“ He came toward her, and Draco followed him. ‘ What 
is it } ’ he asked, pretending not to know.” 

“ To be funny } ” asked Pat. 

“ Yes. Cepheus was a bit of a wag in his way. ‘ Can ’t 
you see ? ’ Cassiopeia asked impatiently. ‘ A little wilted 
green meteor ! ’ 

“ ‘ What of it.^ It won’t hurt you.’ 

“ ‘ Of course it won’t! But how did it come here ? ’ 
‘“You must have put it there yourself, to decorate.’ 

“ ‘ Now you know better. Would n’t I know it if — Why 1 
You've got one yourself !' she almost shrieked. 

“ ‘ Have I asked Cepheus, innocently. 

“ ‘ There — in your crown ! ’ and she pointed to it. And 
Draco could not keep still another second. 

“‘We’ve all got them!’ he cried. Then Cassiopeia 


STAR PEOPLE 


158 

knew they had been pretending — to make sport of 
her; and that was the time everybody else had to wake 
up ! ’’ 

“ It was Little Bear put them,” said the Kitten. 

“ That was the very person. And Andromeda guessed 
it at once. But even she could n’t guess why. So she chose 
to wait a little before she spoke. Perseus must have for- 
gotten, or it took him longer to wake up ; but suddenly it 
occurred to him too. Andromeda pulled his elbow just as 
the word was at his lips. ‘ Don’t say anything,’ she whis- 
pered. ‘ Look at Little Bear ! ’ 

“ Perseus looked ; and it was hard not to laugh. Little 
Bear did laugh — in his own way. He twinkled ! He was 
close by Cassiopeia’s chair, and fairly bursting with impor- 
tance and excitement, but he was so little they quite over- 
looked him. 

“ Cassiopeia went straight on talking. 

“ ‘ I want to understand it,’ she said. ‘ It seems as if it 
must mean something, and I can ’t see one bit of sense in 
it, — just little green meteors that won’t go off. What are 
they for .? ’ 

“ ‘ Little Bear knows,’ said Andromeda, quickly. She 
was afraid his feelings would be hurt to hear his meteors 
spoken of disrespectfully. 


A SURPRISE PARTY 


159 


“ ‘ Little Bear ! ’ cried Cassiopeia ; and the Star People 
fell back in a circle and left him in the centre, the twinkles 
running over his fur as he laughed inside and shook with 
excitement. 

“ ‘ Little Bear,’ said Cassiopeia, ‘ did you do it ? ’ 

“ Little Bear’s eyes danced with delight ; then he buried 
his nose in Cassiopeia’s dress. 

“ ‘ Of course he did,’ said Perseus. ‘ We saw him hunt- 
ing for them.’ 

“ * But what is it for? ’ she insisted. 

“ ‘ I know — I know ! ’ cried Draco. ‘ Don’t you know 
what night thith ith ? It ’th the night Little Bear got hith 
Thtar!’ 

“ ‘ And he means it instead of a birthday ! ’ cried Cassi- 
opeia. ‘ Don’t you remember? We said we’d keep it if we 
knew when it was.’ 

“Andromeda was on her knees beside Little Bear, her 
arms around him, when Orion and the Pleiades girls ar- 
rived — each with a little green meteor — to know what 
it meant. Then how they did chatter! — a regular Star 
People’s chorus. 

“ ‘ Now, was n’t that the cleverest Little Bear you ever 
heard of? ’ said Maia. ‘ Just think of his picking them all 
with his little nose, for us.’ 


i6o 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ ‘ And tucking them in where we ’d be sure to find 
them/ said Alcyone. 

“ ‘ I wish I ’d seen him traveling back and forth while 
we were asleep/ said Orion. ‘ How many times do you 
suppose he went through my garden ? ’ 

“ ‘ If we knew how many he brought at onthe, we could 
tell/ said Draco. ‘ Jutht count how many there are of uth/ 

“ It seemed as if they never would make an end of pet- 
ting Little Bear and praising his cleverness, and wonder- 
ing what he thought they could do with those silly, use- 
less little meteors ; but they were careful not to let him 
hear them say they were of no use. But when they had 
said it all again and again, Merope thought it was time 
to do something better. 

“ ‘ What shall we do for the party ? * she asked. 

“ They were troubled then ; they would have liked to do 
something very particular, and it was hard to think of 
anything without taking time to plan. Cassiopeia advised 
them to put it off, but — to their astonishment — Hercules 
objected. He would n’t listen to any such word. 

‘“We are n’t going to do anything of the kind,’ he said. 
‘ After that Little Bear has worked like that, and given 
something to every one of us, he ’s going to have his party 
the same night, and not be kept waiting.’ 


A SURPRISE PARTY 


i6i 


“‘Very well/ said Orion. ‘You plan it.' 

“ ‘ I will. Maybe it won’t be much ; but it’ll be now" 

“ ‘ It ’s a surprise party, to have you plan it,’ suggested 
Andromeda. ‘ And they ’re always fun.’ 

“ ‘ What shall we do ? ’ asked Electra. 

“ ‘ We ’ll go to the Ship,’ announced Hercules, ‘ and 
Little Bear shall be Captain. I guess we can have a pretty 
good party, if we have n’t been thinking about it.’ 

“ The Star-Ship was across the river ; and Hercules 
often went there, because it reminded him of a voyage he 
had taken before he was a Star Person, but they seldom 
went there together. So, only to go was a frolic.” 

“ Did they go in a procession } ” asked the Kitten. 

“Yes, just as they did on birthdays, and explained to 
the Zodiac People how they were celebrating because 
Little Bear had his Star. He marched at the head, and 
you can fancy whether he felt proud. They pretended 
they were a party of adventurers setting out on a cruise, 
and they took Castor and Pollux along with them. 

“ They crossed the river by the tall poplar trees and 
came to the splendid Ship. The stern went up high in a 
beautiful quirl, and the figure on the prow was the head 
of a woman.” 

“That’s like the Jane Ellen,” said Phyllisy. 


i 62 


STAR PEOPLE 


“Yes, but the ships were very different. This was the 
good ship Argo : Captain Little Bear. And they made a 
wonderful voyage, because they were all good sailors on 
the Sea of Make-Believe. There were storms and pirates; 
and they stopped at a cannibal island, off the coast of 
Borneo, rescued a captive damsel, who was just about to 
be eaten, and restored her to her parents in Scotland in 
three shakes of Little Bear’s tail. There never was a cap- 
tain like him, nor such a happy Little Bear. And when 
they were tired of thrilling adventures, the Pleiades girls 
danced, and Castor and Pollux sang songs for them — 
while the Ship took care of herself. 

“ On shipboard, when the sea is smooth is a proper time 
to spin yarns ; so, at the end of one of the dances, Maia 
said : ‘Now somebody must tell a story.’ 

“ ‘ Hercules,’ said Andromeda. ‘ This is his party.’ 

“ ‘ His surprise party,’ corrected Orion. And they never 
were more surprised than to hear him say: — 

“ ‘ I will. What about ? ’ 

“ ‘ Bears,’ said Andromeda. ‘ Because it ’s for Little 
Bear.’ 

“‘All right,’ agreed Hercules. ‘ I ’d just as soon have it 
that as anything.’ 

“ They settled themselves around him to hear the story. 


A SURPRISE PARTY 163 

‘ Now go on — about the bears/ said Andromeda, giving 
Little Bear a squeeze. 

“ ‘ Before there were any Star People in the Sky, it was 
full of bears,’ began Hercules. 

“ ‘ Little Bears ? ’ asked Orion. 

“ ‘ No. Great, big, horrible bears.’ 

Ath big ath Major.? ’ asked Draco. 

“‘Bigger — twice over; and bad. They’d go roarin’ 
and fightin’ around, and they’d eat up a girl — like Ta- 
ygeta, here — as quick as they’d look at her; but there 
were n’t any girls here to eat.’ 

“ ‘ Were they polar bears .? ’ asked Perseus. 

“‘No. They were — were — China bears. The worst 
kind there is. There were n’t any girls then, nor any Star 
People. There were just bears, and not so many stars as 
there are now. There were just exactly one thousand; 
but there were meteors — and the bears liked ’em better 
than anything.’ (Little Bear gave a shiver of joy, and 
Hercules went on.) ‘ The meteors were big, too, bigger 
than any you ever saw. When they were ripe, they were 
bigger than a bear’s head ; but sometimes they would n’t 
go off — and that ’s what made the bears do what they 
did.’ 

“ ‘ What did they do .? ’ asked Perseus. 


164 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ ' That ’s what I ’m telling you/ said Hercules. 

“ ‘ S-sh I ' said Cassiopeia. ‘ Don’t interrupt. When 
did n’t they go off ? ’ 

For the biggest bear’s party. There was going to be 
a party, and the bears all came ; and not one of them 
would go off.’ 

“ ‘ The bearth ? ’ asked Draco. 

“ ‘ S-sh ! ’ said Cassiopeia. ‘ The meteors, of course.’ 

“ ‘ It thounded ath if he meant the bearth,’ explained 
Draco; but Hercules went on, undisturbed. It was re- 
markable how he could talk, now he was started. He 
looked right at Little Bear while he told his story, and 
Little Bear looked back at him in perfect delight. 

“ ‘ There would n’t one of ’em go off,’ he repeated, ‘ and 
that made the great big horrible bears madder than hor- 
nets — and they went tearin’ around, and they would have 
smashed all the meteors and eaten each other up ; but there 
was one bear that was a funny fellow, and he used to 
make ’em laugh. And they liked that sometimes, when 
they were tired of fightin’. 

“‘So this bear said to the others: “I’ve thought of 
something. Let ’s have some fun. I know what to do with 
these meteors.” ’ 


“ ‘ What } ’ asked Perseus. 


A SURPRISE PARTY 165 

“‘S-sh!’ said Cassiopeia; and ‘You wait,’ said Her- 
cules. 

“ ‘ So the other bears said : “ All right. You tell us what 
it is.” And the funny bear told ’em what to do, and they 
all went to work, and they gnawed out the inside of the 
meteors. And they were bigger than the bears’ heads — 
so their heads went inside; and they gnawed ’em out 
until there was n’t anything left but the thin shell ; and 
they gnawed holes through that in places, besides — just 
the way the funny bear told ’em to. And it was a cloudy 
night, and those bears all worked like sixty, and before 
morning they had just a thousand meteors all gnawed out. 

“‘The next night began by being cloudy too; but about 
two hours after dark, it all cleared off. The clouds rolled 
up from one side, all together, like a curtain in front of a 
tableau. And the first man that looked up at the sky fell 
right down in a fit, so everybody around had to attend to 
him. But when he began to come out of it, the rest of 
them looked up — just to see what the weather was; and 
every one of ’em yelled right out ! ’ 

“ Hercules stopped and looked around at his audience. 
They were listening so breathlessly they could n’t even 
ask questions, and he must have been proud of his success. 
He paused to enjoy it, until Cassiopeia said, ‘Oh, go on ! ’ 


STAR PEOPLE 


1 66 

What do you suppose made ’em?* he asked, looking 
at Little Bear, — ‘made ’em yell, I mean. In that sky, 
there ought to have been just one thousand stars, spread 
around equally ; instead of that, there were one thousand 
Chinamen! s heads, grinnin’ at ’em, over each other’s 
shoulders, all on one half of the sky.’ (‘ Oh ! ’ gasped the 
Star People.) ‘ Those horrible bears had popped one star 
inside of each of those gnawed-out meteors, and arranged 
’em like that.’ ” 

(“Like the heads on the Chinese plates,” whispered 
Phyllisy, and the Princess twinkled at her with her eyes.) 

“ ‘ Made jack-o’ lanterns of them,’ said Cepheus. 

“‘Yes,’ said Hercules. ‘One thousand jack-o’ lanterns, 
because that funny bear said it would be a joke.’ 

“ ‘ I should think it was,’ said Orion. 

“‘Well, it was nC said Hercules. ‘ At least, it was the 
poorest joke those bears ever tried. It did for them ! Of 
course, people could n’t stand such goings on with the 
stars. So they said : “ Those bears have got to be cleared 
out ; and we ’ll have some Star People to take care of our 
sky.” So they picked out some people they knew were 
good at huntin’ wild animals and were n’t afraid ; and 
Orion and Perseus and I — and some more of us — came 
first; and we just cleared out those horrible bears that 


A SURPRISE PARTY 167 

were n’t fit to be here, and made this the right kind of a 
Starland for us all to live in.’ 

“ ‘ Did you drive them, every one, out ? ’ asked Alcyone. 

“ ‘ Y es,’ said Hercules. ‘ At least — almost ; but there was 
just one little bit of a bear that did n’t seem at all like the 
others,’ — Little Bear wriggled with delight — ‘ and Orion 
said to me, “ I guess we ’ll keep this little chap. He seems 
a pretty good kind of a bear.” And I said, “ All right. 
We ’ll try him; but if he goes to cuttin’ up — out he’ll 
go, after the others ! ” ’ 

‘“But he didn’t!’ said Andromeda, squeezing him, 
‘ and we could n’t live without him ! Is one single bit of 
that story true ? ’ 

“ ‘ There ’s Little Bear, to prove it,’ said Orion. And it 
was not fair to ask ; for it was an absorbing story while it 
lasted, and that ’s more than can be said for a great many 
stories,” finished the Princess. 

“Not yours. Dearie,” said Miss Phyllisy. “Yours are 
always as good as that — and better.” 

“ They interrupt just like us, don’t they .f”’ asked Pat. 

“ Just as we ’re interrupting now,” said Phyllisy. “ What 
came next. Dearie ? ” 

She was looking off, over their heads, at the sky beyond 
the tree-tops; she looked back quickly, smiling at the 


STAR PEOPLE 


1 68 

Others. “Next, Miss Phyllisy? Not very much. When 
the laughter and talk about the story had died away, every 
one sat quiet, a little tired and ready to be serious — and 
they fell to talking about the Ship. 

“‘Isn’t she beautiful?’ said Celeno. ‘Wouldn’t you 
love to see her sailing ? ’ 

‘“We shall, some time,’ said Orion. 

“ ‘ Do you really believe it ? ’ asked Maia. 

“ ‘ Surely,’ said Castor. ‘ She ’s lighter now than she 
used to be.’ 

“ ‘ A good deal,’ agreed Hercules. ‘ I measure every 
once in a while, and she keeps going up — every year a 
little.’ 

“ ‘ Sing the song about it, Castor,’ said Andromeda. But 
he did n’t, because Draco exclaimed suddenly : ‘ It ’th 
going to clear! ’ 

“ They had forgotten all about the weather I 

“ ‘ Goodness I ’ cried Cassiopeia. ‘ I do believe it is I 
And we’ve all that way to go! Come this second, or 
we ’ll be caught in it ! ’ 

“ And, just as we’re going to scurry in before that big 
black cloud catches us, those careless Star People had to 
scamper, laughing all the way, back to their places, to be 
there before the clouds drifted away. They were lucky 


A SURPRISE PARTY 169 

that it cleared so late. All they lost of the party was 
Castor’s song about the ship. And they knew it as well 
as he did.” 

“ But we don’t know it,” said Phyllisy. 

Pat twisted her eyebrow and glanced up for an instant. 
“ If we go now, we can’t scurry. It won’t come soon enough. 
You can tell it.” 

The Kitten looked up, too, weatherwise. Then she 
folded her hands very comfortably in her lap. “ It truly 
won’t,” she said. And the Princess believed her, and 
leaned back once more in the flowery chair. 

“ I ’d like to sing it to you,” she said, “ because it ’s such 
a pretty song, and it explains what they meant by the 
Ship’s growing lighter.” 

The wind of the shower stirred the plumes of asters 
behind the Princess’s head while she sang ; but even when 
the song was ended they were n’t obliged to scurry. So 
they waited a little longer for an excuse to scamper, be- 
cause they wanted to. 

THE SONG OF THE SHIP 

“ I ’ll build you a palace of gold, my dear, 

With diamond knobs for its doors ; 

With banqueting-halls. 

And rooms to give balls. 


I 


170 


STAR PEOPLE 

And thistle-down rugs on the floors. 

And other splendors untold, my dear, 

Shall be yours. When I once begin 
To build the palace, it won’t take long.” 

“Oh, when?” 

“ When my ship comes in.” 

“ Would you ride in an ivory chariot, my dear, 

With steeds that are swift as the wind ? 

Six zebras shall stand 
To wait your command j 
Then, away ! — and leave dullness behind I 
Their harness of silk all a-tinkle with bells 
Of crystal, makes musical din. 

They shall surely be yours, if you ’ll say but the word.” 
“But whenV* 

“ When my ship comes in.” 

There ’s a Ship that is freighted with heart’s desires ; 
Fast moored ’midst the stars she must lie. 

Till the last, least weight 
Of greed or of hate 
Shall out of her cargo fly. 

When the wish of each heart is gentle and kind. 

With no taint of a selfish sin, 

Then — light as a dream — the buoyant Ship, 

The Ship from the Stars shall come in ! 


X 


TRAVELERS* TALES 



^HERE came a frost one night, and 
it was most exciting in the morning 
to see the bewitchments everywhere. 
Sometimes it was whole trees and rows 
of trees solid gold, and sometimes it 
was only one tiny branch blazing red 
by itself out of plain green. It was joyful surprises every 
minute to walk in it. They filled their hands with leaves, 
more than they could hold, gathered one by one — and 
each the most beautiful they had found. The Others gave 
them to the Princess until her hands were brimming; then 
they filled their own, but they were still for her. 

Before they could believe it, they came to the hill that 


172 


STAR PEOPLE 


was the round top of the world. It was covered with short 
grass, very slippery to climb but worth while, for from it 
they could see World -without-end, and Ocean. There 
were mountains, far away, on three sides, and on the 
fourth — also far away — was the Ocean, set up on edge. 
The sharp top line of it came opposite, but everything 
was below them, with long slopes going wide, and they 
were up in the middle, directly under the deep blue sky. 
And they could see frost-bewitchments over all the land. 

On the face of the very blue sea were tiny white flecks 
that were ships. They looked as if they were climbing up, 
or slipping down, on account of the sea being set up on 
edge. 

“Suppose this,” said Miss Phyllisy to Pat and the 
Kitten (the Princess was looking off, thinking : “ What if 
the finest ship afloat were coming?” and the Others 
wouldn’t disturb her). “Suppose this: Wouldn’t it be 
funny if a ship went straight up; and it climbed up until 
it came to the edge, and then kept going straight on 
ahead — off into the air ? ” 

“ But it could n’t,” said Pat. “ It has to stick right on ; 
and then it keeps rounding over until it is curling under. 
It does^ truly r she insisted, though they didn’t contradict 
her, “because I’ve done it — when I came; and it goes 


TRAVELERS’ TALES 


173 


right along and nobody would know, but still it is curling 
under ; and you would think it was going straight ahead, 
because — I ought to know, because I 've been clear 
under, halfway around; and it's night there now. Now 
that is really true. Honestly ! " 

“ That is the way it is, honestly,” said the Princess, for 
she had heard all they said. “You can’t get off. Straight 
ahead you go and seem to go and keep going; and back 
you come to the place you started from — if you go long 
enough, because you’re tied down to it. But it’s a beauti- 
ful old Earth to travel on, is n’t it ? — and Starland to see 
besides.” 

“ Orion could sail straight off in a Star-Ship,” said the 
Kitten. 

“ Of course the Star People could go anywhere,” agreed 
Phyllisy. “ How far could they go, truly straight ahead. 
Dearie } ” 

“To the other end of Nowhere, and be no nearer the 
end — I should say. But they don’t go, because their Law 
says they are to stay in their own Starland.” 

“ Then they ’ll be there at night,” said the Kitten. 

“ Where would they go.f^” asked Pat. 

“ To other Starlands,” said the Princess. And that was 
a surprising answer, because not one of them supposed 


174 


STAR PEOPLE 


there could be any others. “ The Star People say there 
are,” the Princess assured them, “ and I should think they 
ought to know.” 

“ But how would they know, if they never go to them ? ” 
Miss Phyllisy objected. 

“ Partly by seeing. For instance, there are the Far-Away 
Isles — two little filmy streaks of light away down in the 
Southern sky, that look like scraps of the Milky Way. 
The Star People often talk about them ; and from time to 
time some bit of news comes trickling in about outside 
places, nobody knows how — vague rumors. It made a 
story one time, news coming that way,” she ended, look- 
ing very attentively at a leaf in her hand, and turning it 
over to examine the back, as if she did n’t know what was 
expected of her ! 

But the Others were immediately disposing of their 
leaves where they would be safe under stones, hopping 
and chirping like birds in a bush, to settle themselves 
on the smooth ledges of rock that came through the 
hill where it was thin on top, and were toasty warm 
from the sun. And the Princess watched them, smiling 
to herself, but not saying a word until everybody was 
comfortable. 

“ As I told you,” she began, “ there are often bits of 


TRAVELERS’ TALES 


175 

news floating about in Starland — a sort of impression of 
something, very vague, that comes — nobody knows how, 
— comets, possibly. And nobody would depend on what 
they said.” 

The Others were very sure they would n’t. 

“Neither would I,” said the Princess. “And perhaps 
that isn’t the way it comes. But it comes some way. 
Sometimes vaguer and other times more distinct. This 
time, all at once, there sprang up a real, definite rumor : 
They were to have a visitor ! 

“ Orion was the person who first spoke of it to the 
Pleiades girls. They were dancing a pretty, twisty dance 
when he came strolling along and called to them : — 

“ ‘ Are you practicing to be ready for company.?’ 

“ They did n’t catch what he said, and Taygeta would 
have stopped, but Maia would n’t let them. So Orion 
waited and watched while they untangled and finished in 
a straight line ; and he might have gone far to see any- 
thing so pretty as they were, in their gauzy gowns all 
a-glimmer with tiny stars. 

“‘Now you may talk, if you like,’ said Maia. ‘ Alcyone 
often makes a mistake in that, so I wanted to go straight 
through it.’ 

What dance was that ? ’ asked Orion. 


176 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ ‘ That one of the “Sailor's Knots/" said Taygeta. 
‘ There's such a lot of them! ' 

‘“Yes/ said Alcyone, ‘and they are a good deal alike 
and entirely different. Any one might be mixed. You 
have to tie them up, first, and then untangle them.’ 

“ ‘ She can do it perfectly well when she wants to/ said 
Maia. ‘ All our family know about ocean things ; but any 
one can make her giggle and be silly.' 

“ ‘ What was it you said as you came ? ’ asked Merope, 
quickly. She had tact about changing the subject. 

“ ‘ I don’t remember. Nothing much,’ said Orion. 
‘“Yes, it was,' said Taygeta. ‘Something about com- 
pany.’ 

“ ‘ Oh, yes. Have n't you heard 
“ ‘ Heard what ? ' 

“ ‘ Tell us — quick I ’ They all spoke together; and they 
should have known better than to let Orion see how eager 
they were. It gave him a chance to tease. 

“‘Why — some one. Oh, I'm sure you must have 
heard. You don’t want me to tell it all over again ? ’ 
“‘Yes, we do — ' 

“ ‘ No, we have n’t — ' 

“ ‘ Now, don't be so mean — ' 

“ ‘ Don’t ask him/ said Maia. ‘ He 's dying to tell.’ 


TRAVELERS’ TALES 


177 


“ Then they said not another word, but stood in a lovely 
row, locking arms and balancing on their toes, and looked 
at him ; and Orion looked back at them. Then he pushed 
his lion’s skin up over his shoulder and spoke to his 
dogs : — 

Come, Sirius! We’d better go and get ready before 
the Stranger comes,’ and he turned to go. But there were 
seven girls to stop him, and they were around him in a 
second. 

“'No, you shall not — ’ 

“ ‘ Now, Orion — ’ 

“ ‘ Oh, please — ’ 

‘“What is it ? ’ they asked; and he was dying to tell I 

“ ‘ I can’t tell you so very much,’ he said. ‘ But they say 
we are to have a visitor from the Far-Away Isles.’ 

“ ‘ Who says so ? ’ 

“‘Who is coming?’ 

“ ‘ When will he be here ? ’ 

“ ‘ What is he coming for ? ’ They were like seven in- 
terrogation points I 

“‘I don’t know,’ said Orion. ‘I don’t remember who 
told me — and I ’m not quite sure what. Everybody but 
you seems to know about it.’ 

“‘Did you ever know any one so tiresome?’ asked 


STAR PEOPLE 


178 

Maia. And six Pleiades girls said they never had, and 
‘ We 'll have to ask some one else.' 

“ So, off they went to try to find out what was going to 
happen ; and how anybody knew about it. 

“ It was a curious thing, but by the time they had talked 
with the other Star People, they were in the same state 
as Orion and all the others. No one could tell quite where 
he had heard it, and no one knew exactly what he had 
heard ; but every one had a perfectly clear impression 
that a visitor was coming from the Far-Away Isles. 

When they tried to talk a little more definitely about 
him, they did not altogether agree. Still, there was a strong 
idea that he was young and splendid and handsome, of 
course ; some one very distinguished in his own country." 

“ A prince, for instance ? " asked Phyllisy. 

“More than likely. — 

“ ‘ What do you suppose he is coming for ? ' asked Maia. 

“ ‘ Perhapth, becauth he 'th going to all the Thtar-Coun- 
trieth,' said Draco. ‘ He could n't do that unleth he came 
here.’ 

“ ‘ That 's so,' said Hercules. ‘ We 're one of 'em.' 

“ ' You 're mistaken,' said Cepheus. ‘ He 's heard about 
the prettiest seven sisters in Starland, and he wants to 
take his choice of them back with him. You'll have to 


TRAVELERS’ TALES 179 

polish up your stars, girls, and dance your best for him.’ 
(That was his idea of a joke! ) 

“‘Indeed we worUt!' said Electra, with her nose very 
high. ‘ We care nothing about him.’ 

No,’ said Alcyone. ‘We won’t do one thing!’ 

‘“Now, don’t you put nonsense into their heads,’ said 
Cassiopeia to Cepheus. ‘ He ’s just coming to be friendly, 
and because he can ; and I think it ’s lovely. We are going 
to do everything possible to give him a fine welcome ; and 
the girls will look just as pretty as they can, to be a credit 
to us all.’ 

“ ‘ I wish Merope’s star were brighter,’ said Celeno. 
‘ Do you think there is anything we could do about it ’ 

“ There was one thing they could do: they could talk! 
And they began that very minute. It seems hardly possible 
that people could talk so much about so little ! No one 
had thought before that Merope was not quite as she 
should be. If her star was faint and vanished when one 
looked hard at it, that was the way of Merope’s star, and 
that was all there was about it. 

“ But now, with the thought of stranger eyes, they began 
to feel that perhaps it was extraordinary that she should 
be different from her sisters. And the more they thought 
and talked about it, the more important it seemed to be. 


i8o 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ Every one had some suggestion to make, except poor 
Merope herself ; she never had given it a thought, and 
now she declared she did n’t care. 

“ ‘ But we care,’ said Maia. ‘ It is n’t creditable to our 
family. What will the Stranger think, to see you different 
from us ? ’ 

“So they talked — and talked — ” 

“ Why did n’t they give her a star.? — like Little Bear.? ” 
asked the Kitten. 

“ They would have given it, gladly, but Merope would n’t 
take it ; and, what is more, none of them had a star of the 
right kind to give.” 

“ They ’re terribly particular about them, are n’t they .? ” 
said Phyllisy. 

“ They have to be,” answered the Princess. “ But not 
in the way they were now. Those foolish people went on 
talking, and fixed their eyes and their thoughts on the star 
until they quite lost their senses, and it seemed the most 
calamitous thing that could happen — that the splendid 
Stranger should come from the Far-Away Isles and see 
Merope with the puzzling star above her forehead. 

“ One night, at this time, Perseus came along by the river, 
and there he found Merope sitting alone. She was thinking 
so deeply she did n’t see him until he was close beside her. 



HE FOUND MEROPE SITTING ALONE 





t 















TRAVELERS^ TALES i8i 

“‘Where are the rest of you ? ’ he asked. 

“ ‘ Dancing somewhere ; I don’t know where. I came 
here to think.’ 

“ That sounded pretty sad to Perseus, and he tried to 
say something to cheer her. 

“‘I wouldn’t worry about that star. You look all 
right.’ 

“ ‘ I would n’t mind for myself,’ said Merope ; ‘ but I ’m 
not going to disgrace my family.’ 

“It was not long after this that the six Pleiades began 
to say : ‘ Where is Merope ? ’ and then the other Star 
People said : ‘ Where can Merope he?' — until the whole 
Sky seemed one great Question ; and the nearest it came 
to an answer was that Perseus had seen her sitting on the 
bank of the river, quite downcast, but plainly resolved to 
do something. 

“ Cassiopeia was so worried, she lost her temper. 

“ ‘ I hope you girls are satisfied now' she said. ‘ Perse- 
cuting that poor child! — and all for vanity. If anything 
has happened to her, I don’t know how you ’ll forgive 
yourselves I ’ 

‘“You were in it, too,’ observed Perseus ; and she was. 

“ ‘ I know it,’ she said, after a pause. ‘ That ’s how I 
know how they ought to feel.’ 


i 82 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ ‘ I don’t see how anything couldhdiVQ, happened to her/ 
said Orion. 

“ ‘ Then where is she 1 ’ asked Perseus. And that was 
what no one of them could answer ; and Starland was n’t 
a happy place.” 

“ They could think she ’d run away,” suggested the Kit- 
ten. 

“ Or drowned in the river,” said Miss Phyllisy in a tragic 
voice. 

“ They could n’t bear to think it was anything serious ; 
but it was a mystery where she could be. They wandered 
from place to place, asking one another what it could 
mean. And everywhere they ran across Little Bear, roam- 
ing uneasy and disconsolate : even old Major was restless. 

‘“You don’t suppose the Stranger came and carried her 
off to the Far-Away Isles, do you 1 ’ asked Andromeda. 

“ ‘ No, I do not,’ said Orion, very positively. 

“ ‘ She would n’t have gone ! She would n’t have left 
us,’ Taygeta declared. 

“ ‘ Suppose he took her.? ’ insisted Andromeda. 

Nonsense ! ’ said Cassiopeia. 

“ But when the night was gone without any sign of 
her, and a cloudless night followed and there were only 
six girls in the group where there should have been seven, 


TRAVELERS’ TALES 


183 

what could they think ? What could keep one of the Star 
People from her place, unless something really had hap- 
pened to her ? And when they had borne her absence for 
two cloudless nights, their hearts had grown heavier and 
heavier, and they had almost given up any hope of seeing 
their dear Merope again.” 

“ And they could n’t hunt for her when it was clear,” 
said Phyllisy. 

“No. They could only stand still and brood over it for 
two endless nights. 

“The third night came, cloudless still. The daylight 
grew dim until it was nearly gone, and one after another, 
each star glimmered in its place. When — 

“ Who was it ? — coming — far down the Sky ? 

“ The Star People neither spoke nor stirred while Me- 
rope came swiftly and slipped into her place just as the 
last gleam of daylight faded away. And if that did n’t 
show how faithful and obedient they were, what could } ” 

“ They had to keep all their questions in them,” said Pat. 

“ Yes, for a while. But about midnight thick clouds 
spread across the sky ; and then Merope might have an- 
swered twenty questions at once, if she had had so many 
mouths. 

“ ‘ Where have you been ? ’ and ‘ Why did you go ? ’ 


184 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ ‘ Has anything hurt you ? ’ 

“ ‘ Did n’t you know we would worry ? ’ That was Cassi- 
opeia. 

“ ‘ If you ’ll listen, I ’ll tell you all about it,’ said Merope. 
‘ But you all talk at once.’ 

‘“We won’t,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘Be quiet, everybody! 
Tell us this minute. Who took you.? ’ 

“ ‘ Nobody. I went myself.’ 

“ ‘ That ’s not the way to begin,’ said Orion. ‘ Where 
did you go.?’ 

“ ‘ I went where the stars are made.’ 

“‘What did you do such a thing as that for .?’ 

“ Merope’s arm was around Little Bear, as he sat close 
beside her, and she drooped her head until her chin 
touched his sharp little ear and bent it over. 

“‘I wanted a new star,’ she said very softly. ‘Wait — 
I ’ll tell you all about it. I thought you were ashamed of 
me, and I did n’t want to disgrace you ; and I thought and 
thought until I made up my mind to go where they were 
made, and get a new one.’ 

“‘ But how could you be gone from your place.?’ asked 
Maia. ‘ Don’t you know it ’s been clear weather ? ’ 

“ ‘ Yes,’ said Merope. ‘ But I knew my star was so dull it 
was n’t likely I ’d be missed. I ’m not very important.’ 


TRAVELERS’ TALES 185 

“‘Yes, you are — just as important as any of us,’ said 
Taygeta. 

“‘And we’ve been almost crazy, missing you,’ said 
Cassiopeia. ‘Even Major had the fidgets. I think our 
feelings ought to be considered.’ 

“ ‘ I know it. I ’m sorry now. I did n’t think of that.’ 

“ ‘ But tell us what you did,’ said Orion. It seemed al- 
most impossible to keep them to the subject. 

“‘ I will. You know the place — off that way,’ and she 
pointed over the river. ‘ I knew all I had to do was to 
keep going straight on until I came there. So I slipped 
off quietly, when you were all busy.’ 

“‘If I ’d seen you start, you would n’t have gone, — un- 
less I went too,’ said Hercules. ‘It wasn’t safe — a girl 
all alone.’ 

“ ‘ But what happened } Did anything frighten you ? ’ 

“ ‘ No. Only the dark, and cold.’ 

“ ‘ £>ar& ! Was it really dark, Merope ? ’ 

“ ‘ Well — I never heard anything like that ! ’ said Cas- 
siopeia. 

(“The reason they were so astonished is because it 
never is dark in Starland. There is always the starlight.” 
The Princess answered the question the Others didn’t 
ask, except by looks. “Oh — h ! ” they murmured.) 


STAR PEOPLE 


1 86 

“ ‘Yes, it was,* said Merope, ‘part of the time. Not at 
first. After I crossed the river I went straight on for a 
good while ; it was about like this,* she waved her hand. 
‘ It was all right until it was dark — * Then she stopped 
talking just at the most interesting place. 

“ ‘ Oh, go on^ Merope ! * said Alcyone. ‘ Where was it 
dark?* 

“ ‘ I don’t believe I can explain it. It came all at once — 
everywhere — as if I had walked off the edge — into the 
sea ; only there was n’t any sea. There was n’t anything ! ’ 

“ ‘ There was you^ was n’t there ? ’ asked Perseus. 

“‘Yes. But I knew there would n’t be, long.* 

“ ‘ I wish you would explain things as you go along,* 
said Cassiopeia. 

‘“ I ’ll try,’ said Merope. ‘ But it *s very perplexing. It 
was perfectly dark ; you never saw any dark like it — * 

“‘You can’t see dark, ever,* said Orion. ‘ That *s what 
it is.* 

“‘That*s what I meant. You couldn’t see it; even 
my own little stars were out * (she glanced at her dress), 
‘ and it was cold — deathly ! and not a sound — and I 
did n’t know which way anything was. I was just colder 
and colder, and still — and I knew, someway, I was going 
out.* 


TRAVELERS’ TALES 187 

“ ‘ Out where? ’ asked Hercules. 

Nowhere/ said Merope. ‘ Like a candle/ 

“ ‘ Goodness ! Were n't you frightened ? ' asked Andro- 
meda. 

“ ‘ Yes. And I tried to think what to do, but I could n’t. 
I kept growing colder and stiller — I could n’t move. 
Then I thought about all of you, and there came a little 
warmth inside, and I knew the cold could n’t reach me.’ 

“ ‘ Because love was stronger than cold or dark ? ’ sug- 
gested Andromeda. 

“‘Yes; that was it. Nothing could put it out.’ 

“ ‘ Then how did you find your way out ? ’ asked Ce- 
pheus, after a minute. 

“ ‘ That was easy. When I thought of you and home, 
something pulled me ; so I knew which way you were.’ 

“ ‘ Then you came back,’ said Taygeta. 

“ ‘ No, I did n’t. I could n’t come without the star. And 
I thought if I kept going in the direction I started, I ’d 
come to the right place. So I kept on, the way I did n’t 
want to go.’ 

“‘Now, I call that downright clever!’ said Draco. ‘It 
thowth what it ith to uthe your reathon.’ 

“ ‘ Merope always was the brightest one of our family, 
really/ said Maia. ‘ What did you do then ?’ 


i88 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ ' Kept on. And after I came out of the dark I was not 
very far from the new stars.’ 

“ ‘ Oh, tell us about them ! ’ said Cassiopeia. ‘ How are 
they made.? Tell us every single thing! ’ 

“ ‘ I can’t,’ said Merope. ‘ I ’m not good at understand- 
ing such things. There were a great many — all colors. 
I think they are made of something very light — and spread 
out — it was like fog, in places ; then, in other places, it 
was whirling — I don’t know what makes it begin to whirl : 
then it seemed to thicken up, when it whirled — ’ 

“ ‘ How, thicken up .? ’ asked Orion. 

“ ‘ I can’t explain ; but the star-fog collected and drew 
together into a ball, and that was the star. There were all 
sizes and kinds. Sometimes there was one in the centre 
and more little stars whirling around in rings outside it. 
And trails of fog — I never could describe it. You would 
have to see for yourself. And they sang. Oh, it was beau- 
tiful 1 ’ Then she stopped again, to recall it ; and that was 
trying to the others, because she certainly did not make 
things very clear to them. 

“ ‘ Now, Merope,’ said Cassiopeia, ‘you give your mind 
to it, and describe things a little better. I wish I ’d gone 
myself. I could tell what I ’d seen and heard. What was 
the singing like ? ’ 


TRAVELERS’ TALES 189 

“ ‘ It was n’t like anything,’ said Merope. ‘ That ’s why 
I can’t tell you. It was quite, quite beautiful. Every star — 
when it whirled — seemed to have its own song — ’ 

“ ‘ Like tops ? ’ asked Perseus. 

“ ‘ Perhaps, a little — ’ said Merope, doubtfully ; ‘ and all 
the songs made one ; and — I don’t know what it said, 
but I think — ’ then she hesitated. 

“ ‘ Go on ! ’ said Maia. 

“ ‘ I think it said, they were glad they were alive.’ 

“ ‘ Of course,’ said Cassiopeia. ‘ Then what 1 ’ 

“ ‘ Then it was time for me to come home.’ 

“ ‘ Did n’t you dread coming through the dark place 
again } ’ asked Electra. 

“ ‘ Yes. But I knew I could get through. And it was n’t 
so hard as going ; all I had to do was to come the way I 
wanted to. So I just came.’ 

“ ‘ But, Merope,’ said Andromeda, ‘ where is your new 
star.?’ 

“ Then every one of the Star People looked at Merope, 
and saw — what not one of them had noticed before, they 
were so glad to have her back — her own, strange, vanish- 
ing star still glinted above her forehead. 

“ * Could n’t you find the right kind .? ’ asked Taygeta. 

Were n’t you allowed to have it.? ’ asked Orion. 


STAR PEOPLE 


190 

“ ‘ Did you lothe it, coming back?’ asked Draco. 

“ ‘ Answer, Merope ! ’ said Cassiopeia. 

“ Merope looked confused, and she bent over Little 
Bear once more (he was a very convenient Little Bear), 
but she had to speak. 

“ ‘ There were plenty of stars,’ she said slowly, ‘ and I 
might have taken one, but when I saw them — all so 
splendid — they did n’t seem like me ; and then I thought 
you all loved me, and I knew you did n’t care really, for 
the star; and I liked my own best. So — I just came 
home.’ 

‘“We ’re glad, Merope,’ said Andromeda. ‘ We love you 
best like this.’ 

“ And every one of the Star People felt the same.” 

“We do too. Dearie,” said Phyllisy. “ That was the best 
ending.” 

Pat and the Kitten wriggled and nodded, and the Prin- 
cess smiled at them, but she held up her finger for them 
to wait for the very end. 

“ Then it was Merope’s turn to ask a question. But it 
did n’t occur to her until a little later. 

“The sisters were dancing — the very prettiest and 
most twirly of the ‘ Sailor’s Knots ’ — and Merope w^as the 
centre of the twist, when she stopped short and asked : — 




1 


i 


TRAVELERS’ TALES 


191 

“ ‘ When will the Stranger be here ? * 

“ The Star People looked at each other in complete 
astonishment. They had forgotten all about him. 

“ ‘ He is n’t coming/ said Orion, after a pause. 

“ ‘ How do you know he is n’t.?’ asked Hercules. 

“ ‘ The same way we knew he was^ answered Orion. 

I ’d jutht like to know who thtarted that thtory,’ said 
Draco. ‘ I believe it wath a comet ! ’ 

“ ‘ So do I,’ said Cassiopeia.” 

“Truly was it.?” asked the Kitten. 

“ What do you think ? ” asked the Princess. 

Then all the questions they had kept inside of them 
began to come out, and they lasted down the hill — very 
jerky, on account of having to run or slip — and most of 
the long way back. But there was time beside to gather 
more leaves to take the place of those they had forgotten 
and left safe under small stones on the hill-top ! 

There were thousands and thousands of them fallen, 
too beautiful to pass over, so it was just as well. 


XI 

TORQUILLON’S LAIR 



PRECISELY when the clock had 
struck three there came three 
raps on the door. (There had 
been shuffling, whispering noises, 
and a squeak like a mouse before, 
very small, but different from the sound 
of the rain against the windows.) 

“ Come in ! said the Princess ; and 
there entered the very ones she expected 
to see, because it was an appointment. 

The first thing, she wanted to ask 
them if they didn’t think it would be 
comforting to have a fire in the fire- 
place, to look at. 

The Others instantly thought it would. 
Miss Phyllisy shivered her shoulders when she thought it, 
and the Kitten shivered hers when she saw Miss Phyllisy. 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 193 

But Pat did not shiver, because none of them was truly 
chilly, only it was such a disconsolate day, with cold gray 
coming in at the windows and the corners dark, and large 
doleful brown leaves hanging sodden from a branch and 
beating back and forth in the rain. 

The Princess was sure they would feel that way about 
the fire, and she thought they would n't mind the trouble 
of starting it themselves, it was so jolly to see the first 
blaze. And they didn’t mind in the least; they loved it. 

It was laid ready — large logs and small pieces to kindle 
it, but they were very busy for several minutes, changing 
the small pieces as Miss Phyllisy wanted them, because 
she had a talent for fires. 

When it was arranged to suit her, the Kitten struck the 
match and lighted the paper — and they all stood quite still 
while a flame stole around, weaving in and out, and the 
blackened paper drew up where it passed, A round puff- 
ing smoke rose above and sharp red tongues flipped out 
at the top — a fine crackle began to sound — then came a 
broad roar. The next minute flames were wrapping around 
the great logs, the whole length of them, and blazing up 
the chimney, and the room to the farthest corner and 
across the ceiling was full of moving firelight, with little 
fires winking from everything shiny in it — even the rain- 


194 


STAR PEOPLE 


drops chasing down the panes. It was surprising, the 
change it made. Now, the miserable day outside only 
made them more cosy and contented, here by Miss Phyl- 
lisy’s beautiful fire, where their Princess sat ready to tell 
them a most especial story that she would love to have 
them hear. But, as Prudence said, it would n’t be wise to 
begin while the fire needed attention, and there was no 
hurry. So they watched the first blaze pass off ; then the 
logs settled and fell apart, and they poked them and put 
on one more, and Pat set the fender in place. 

The new log sputtered a minute before the blaze began 
to eat it. They watched a few minutes longer, to be sure 
it was all right; and it was. The Princess said she never 
had seen a more satisfactory fire, — and likely to last. 

So Pat and the Kitten curled up in the pillows on the 
broad couch in the corner near the fireplace, and Phyllisy 
sat on a stool at the end of the hearth, where she could 
reach the poker without interrupting, if it should be neces- 
sary. The Princess was in her large chair, drawn up a little 
way off. The rings on her clasped hands glittered, and 
there was a big rosette on the toe of her slipper, pointed 
out toward the glow. The firelight shone in her eyes and 
they looked very joyful, and her lips were smiling before 
she began to speak. 


195 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 

“The Jane Ellen/’ said the Princess softly, making the 
name long, as if she liked to say it, and the Others wrig- 
gled as if they liked to hear, — “the Jane Ellen was a 
very busy ship, and made important journeys, carrying 
splendid cargoes from port to port ; but she sailed so fast 
when she was going straight on that the Captain always 
had time to stop on the way to attend to any little thing 
that needed it, or to be obliging and kind — like the time 
when they arranged about the Sailor’s Star. 

“ Now if you had sailed on the Jane Ellen on one of 
the most interesting cruises she ever made, you would 
have come to a place where a long point of land ran out 
for miles into the sea. The point ended in a great rock 
that looked like the head and shoulders of a lion, coming 
out of the forest that covered the hills back of him, and 
roaring because he could n’t get across to the point of a 
very large island that lay in the sea opposite. There was 
another great rock that made the point of the island (as 
if they were two gate posts), and this rock was the head 
of a man, frowning and dark ; and one would hardly know 
which he was angriest with ; the Lion, or any one who 
tried to pass through the gateway. 

“ Besides the large island, there were a great many 
smaller ones — like a flock of ducks — and between them 


STAR PEOPLE 


196 

the water was shallow. So ships that wanted to pass that 
way had either to go through the dark Gateway, between 
the Roaring Lion and the Frowning Man, or else turn 
away to the south and sail miles and miles out of their 
course, around that whole flock of islands. And a great 
many ships did want to go that way ; for it led to a land 
where the pearls were as large as gooseberries and all 
lovely tropical things grew because they could n’t help it. 

“ It is n’t pleasant to have even a rock man look as if 
he would like to bite off one’s bowsprit, or crowd one over 
into the jaws of a roaring lion ; but they were only rocks 
with a good passage between, and no captain who was in 
the least bit of a hurry would have hesitated one minute, 
or even thought of sailing around those hundreds of 
islands on their account. But every captain who sailed 
the sea knew that, once inside that Gateway, he would 
come into the haunt of Torquillon, the Waterspout. And 
that was reason enough for any ship to go miles the other 
way.” 

(Torquillon was a stranger to the Others, but they nod- 
ded as if they thought it was an excellent reason. The 
story was beginning in a way that made them very quiet, 
not wanting to interrupt.) 

“ Now when the Jane Ellen passed that way, if the Cap- 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 197 

tain were not on deck and the Mate was commanding the 
ship, he liked to sail close to the Gateway instead of tak- 
ing the shortest way to go around the islands, because he 
was not so old as the Captain, and he never had had so 
much as a glimpse of Torquillon. 

“ This time that I Ve begun to tell you about, the Cap- 
tain was taking a nap, and Taffy had things his own way 
as they came into that part of the ocean. 

“ ‘ How ’s the wind, Quartermaster ? ' he said to the man 
at the wheel. 

Sou’ west-by-south, sir,’ answered the Quartermaster. 
“Taffy looked up at the sails and the clouds and out 
over the sea — as if he were making up his mind, instead 
of knowing all the time what he meant to do! Then he 
said to the Quartermaster : — 

“ ‘ Keep her as she is until we reach this point,’ and he 
made a little mark on the chart, right near the large island; 
‘ then we ’ll make a long run to the south.’ 

“‘Ay, ay, sir,’ said the Quartermaster. But when the 
Mate turned away to walk for’ard, he drew up one side of 
his face so it was all bias, and winked at the Bos’n I 
“ Taffy went into his own cabin, and came out again 
with a long spy-glass in his hand. He walked to the foot 
of the foremast-shrouds and rested the spy-glass in the rat- 


STAR PEOPLE 


198 

lines to steady it, and looked toward the place where the 
Gateway led into Torquillon’s Lair. 

“ And the Jane Ellen was sailing so fast that he had n’t 
been looking long before he saw a little gray hump on the 
edge of the water, that he knew was the large island. Then 
he put down the glass and waited a little while. The next 
time he looked, both the island and the mainland showed 
plainly, with a little, little gap between. 

“ But he never could spend much time doing what he 
liked without being interrupted, so very soon he put down 
the glass and went below to see why Tom Green had n’t 
polished the binnacle. 

“While he was gone the Jane Ellen kept sailing on; 
and by the time he came back the Gateway showed even 
without the glass. And when Taffy had the glass steady 
once more and looked through it, he saw a dark speck on 
the water, outside the Lion’s head. He looked for a mo- 
ment, then he called, ‘Bos’nl* 

“ ‘ Ay, ay, sir,’ said the Bos’n, coming up. Taffy handed 
him the glass. 

“ ‘ See what you make of that.’ 

“ The Bos’n took the glass and looked carefully. Then 
he rubbed the small end with a loose fold of his shirt, and 
looked again. 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 199 

“ ‘ It looks to me like a brig, sir. She ’s hove-to ; and 
she ’s lost some of her riggin’,’ he said. 

“Taffy took the glass, and while he was looking, who 
should come along but the Captain ! He had just stepped 
out of his cabin, and was surprised to see the island so near. 

“ ‘ Why are we here, Mr. Morgan wg ? ’ he asked. ‘ Are n’t 
we out of our course ? ’ 

“ ‘We are, sir, a little,’ said Taffy. ‘ But that’s because 
the wind is sou’ west-by-south. I thought we ’d make better 
time this way.’ 

“ ‘ And go by that Gateway, too,’ said the Captain; and 
he looked at the Bos’n and laughed. The Bos’n laughed 
too, so Taffy felt a wee bit foolish, and he thought he ’d 
rather talk about something else. So he said, ‘ There ’s a 
ship lying over there, in distress.’ 

“ ‘ Let me see,’ said the Captain, taking the glass. ‘ Sure 
enough ! We must go and see what is the matter.’” 

“ Everybody knew he wanted to go, did n’t they ? ” said 
Pat. 

“ Everybody,” said the Princess. “ But they were all 
eager, now, to go to the rescue. 

“ So the Jane Ellen sailed on fast, and drew nearer and 
nearer to the brig ; and when they were near enough to 
see, she was a sight ! 


200 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ Some of her rigging was gone, and halyards and bow- 
lines and braces and all kinds of ropes and sails were 
trailing in the water ; and a flag of distress flip-flip-flipping 
in the breeze over it all. 

“ It was the Reindeer brig, and her captain was a friend 
of the captain of the Jane Ellen. So when they were hove- 
to, beside the Reindeer, the Captain — with the Mate stand- 
ing by — was very glad to welcome his friend on board. 

“‘Now, tell us all about what has happened to the 
Reindeer,’ he said. 

“ The captain of the brig was a short man with bright 
black eyes, and he hated to wait for anything. When he 
wanted a thing, he wanted it that very minute ; and when 
he sent a man on an errand he often went after him before 
he had time to come back, because it seemed so long to 
him. His name was Gryller, but Skipper seemed to suit 
him exactly, so he was very seldom called Captain Gryller. 

“ When he came aboard the Jane Ellen, he could hardly 
wait for the proper greetings to be over before he began 
to tell his story. He spoke very fast; the words pattered, 
clean, and there sounded a great many rr^s in them. 

“ ‘ It ’s that Waterspout ! ’ he said. ‘ He ’s played the mis- 
chief with my rrigging ! ’ 

“ ‘ What .? Torquillon ? ’ asked the Captain. 


201 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 

“ * Certainly. Did you ever hear of any other waterspout 
hereabouts ? I did n’t. He took my main-to’gal’n’mast at 
the first whack ! ’ 

“ ‘ But where was he? ’ asked the Captain. 

“ ‘ Chasing me!'^ said the Skipper, indignantly. 

‘“Out here?’ asked the Captain, perfectly surprised. 
And he looked at the Lion and the Man, to see if Tor- 
quillon were peeping out. 

“‘No!’ exclaimed the Skipper, loudly. ‘ Inside.’ 

“ ‘ Inside ! ’ said the Captain, even louder. ‘ What were 
you doing there ? ’ 

“ ‘ Going through, of course 1’ shouted the Skipper. ‘ Do 
you suppose I was trying to anchorr ? ’ and he almost 
danced on the deck, he was so impatient. 

“The Captain looked at him. Then he said in his 
ordinary voice : — 

“ ‘ We ’re neither of us deaf, and there is n’t a gale of 
wind ; and will you please begin at the beginning, and 
tell me what you did do ? ’ 

That’s just what I was trying to do; but you inter- 
rupted.’ 

“ ‘ Because you began in the middle.’ 

“ ‘ How could any one begin in the middle ? The place 
where you begin is the beginning I ’ 


202 


STAR PEOPLE 


“‘Well, what made you go through there, anyway?^ 
asked the Captain. (He wasn’t quite sure whether the 
beginning was the middle or the end or the other end, 
he felt so tangled up.) 

“ ‘ I did n’t go through,’ insisted the Skipper. ‘ Did n’t 
I just tell you.f^ ’ 

“ ‘ Then, will you tell me what you did do ? ’ 

“ ‘ I starrted to go.* 

“‘Why?’ 

“‘Why does a hen run across the road?’ asked the 
Skipper. 

“ ‘ To get to the other side,’ answered the Captain ; and, 
‘ Because she can’t go ’round it,’ said Taffy. 

“‘Which is it?’ asked the Captain. 

“ ‘ Both,’ said the Skipper. ‘ I wanted to get to the other 
side, and I did n’t want to go around all those islands. 
It’s ridiculous, with that good passage through, to go 
miles out of the way because of that Waterspout — and 
I had n’t the time to spend.’ 

“‘I don’t see that you’ve saved very much,’ said the 
Captain. 

“ ‘ I should have — if I ’d gone through. It ’s all very 
well for you; but every ship is not as fast as the Jane 
Ellen. Anyway, I made up my mind to try, and I got 


203 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 

halfway through before that fellow caught me. But then 
he did smash me up like kingdom-come ! and I had to 
box-haul her, and come back.’ 

“ ‘ What do you want to do now } ’ asked the Captain. 

I hoped a ship would come along and let me have 
some extra spars to make the Reindeer ship-shape ; and 
then — I ’ve got a Plan ; ’ and he stopped, and looked very 
mysterious and important. 

“ ‘ Are you going in again ? ’ asked Taffy, hoping he 
would say Yes — and he did. 

“ ‘Yes, I am. And you ’re going too.’ 

“ ‘ I don’t know whether I am, or not,’ said the Captain. 
‘What for?’ 

“ ‘ I want to bottle up that Waterspout, and clear that 
passage so ships can go through there safely.’ 

“‘You don’t want to do much!’ said the Captain. 
‘ Have you thought how you could do it ? ’ 

“‘Yes, I know all about it. It’s no use to run him 
down ; for he just spills and comes up again ; and you 
can’t tie him up. But I noticed, about halfway through 
the passage there is a little island. It ’s hardly large 
enough to call an island — just a flat-topped rock, not 
much above the water. In that rock there is a deep hollow. 
Now, I think we might lead Torquillon such a chase that 


204 


STAR PEOPLE 


he would trip over the island and spill into the hole. 
Then we could cover him over, quick, with a big tarpaulin, 
and afterward roof him in solid, so he never could get out. 
Don’t you think that would be worth spending a little 
time to do ? ’ 

“ ‘ Yes,’ said the Captain. ‘ If we could do it.’ 

“ ‘ We can’t, of course, if we don’t try ! ’ said the Skipper. 
‘Will you do it?’ 

“ ‘ One thing at a time,’ said the Captain in that sensible 
way that is so annoying when one has an idea. ‘ We ’ll 
rig the Reindeer first — and consider about it’ 

“ And that was all he would say, though it seemed as 
if the Skipper could n’t stand it, not to have it settled that 
very minute. But the Captain lent him some extra spars 
and his ship’s carpenter and some men, and they set to 
work ; and before they knew it, almost, the Reindeer was 
ship-shape again, and looked as good as new. 

“Except the Jane Ellen — that was a full-rigged ship 
anyway — there was n’t a prettier little brig on the high 
seas. Captain Gryller had had her painted brown, dappled 
with lighter spots on her sides and two large light spots on 
her stern, because he meant to call her the Reindeer. And 
he did n’t care whether that was like a reindeer or a moose 
or a stag or a wapiti, or none of them ; he liked it that way. 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 205 

“While they were working, the Captain considered. 
And the more he considered, the more he did n’t know 
whether it would be one bit of use ; but the less he wanted 
to go sailing away around all those islands without trying 
to bottle up that waterspout and clear the passage for all 
the ships that should come after. 

“ And Taffy never considered a minute. He did n’t 
know, and he did n’t much care, whether they could bottle 
up anything, or not ; he thought only, some way or other, 
he must go in at that Gateway between the Lion and the 
Man, and see what was inside. So when the Captain 
called him into his cabin to consult with him, I think you 
can guess what kind of advice Taffy gave.” 

(The children looked as if they could very easily. They 
would have given the same themselves.) 

“ When the Skipper came aboard for his answer, he 
found there was no persuasion needed ; but they could 
begin at once to lay their plans very carefully for what 
they should do when they were once inside. The Skipper 
drew a chart, the way he remembered it, and they laid their 
course, just how they would sail, and settled everything so 
that there could be no mistake. 

“ At last the Captain said : ‘ There ! I think that ’s all. 
And we can make a start the first thing in the morning.’ 


206 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ ‘ To-morrow morning ! ’ shouted the Skipper. ‘ Shiver 
my timbers ! Do you think we can wait forever ? ’ 

“ ‘ Nobody wants to wait so long as that,’ said the Cap- 
tain. ‘But it’s too late to go in to-day. You don’t want 
to be caught in there in the dark.’ 

“ ‘ Who ’s going to be caught ? ’ asked the Skipper. ‘ I ’m 
not. And we ’re going in to-day ! ’ 

“‘We ’re going in to-morrowi said the Captain, just as 
firmly. The Skipper turned huffy. 

“ T ’d like to know who ’s planning this,’ he said. 

“‘You are,’ said the Captain. ‘And I don’t think it’s 
much of a plan — whoever made it ! And if you ’re so set, 
we’ll go now, — the time may be as good as the plan, — 
but it ’s too late ! ’ 

“ ‘ It ’s nearly the longest days in the year,’ said the 
Skipper. As if that would n’t have made it all the easier 
to wait for morning !” 

“ Then it was a wrong argument,” remarked Phyllisy. 

“ Yes ; but he didn’t think long enough to see it. 

“ So, because he was so impatient, just after three bells 
of the second watch of the afternoon had struck, the Jane 
Ellen and the Reindeer weighed their anchors and made 
sail, and advanced side by side, like two white swans, to 
the Gateway that led into Torquillon’s Lair. 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 207 

“There were always clouds hanging over it; and they 
lowered dark over the Frowning Man, so he scowled 
harder than ever as they passed out of the sunshine that 
made their sails shine white as snowdrifts, into the shadow 
of the cloud that suddenly turned them gray. 

“ But they sailed boldly by, close under his nose ; and 
Taffy looked curiously, to see what sort of place they 
had come into. 

“ It was a fine open stretch of sea. The mainland 
curved back from the point into a great bay, so large that 
the point at the farther side of it was only a distant gray 
streak. The flock of islands lay at the right, and sepa- 
rated it from the wide ocean. High mountains rose up on 
the mainland, and the islands, too, were like mountain- 
tops; but graceful palm trees and bananas and other 
lovely green things grew among the craggy rocks. 

“ Now, as they passed into the shadow of the great dark 
cloud and sailed under the nose of the Rock Man, a little 
wind, that lived in a cave on the large island, cried : — 

“ ‘ Whoooooo-uuuuuu-eeeEEE — !' and struck, first the 
Jane Ellen, then the Reindeer, on the starboard bow, 
so that they heeled over to port ; but they went steadily 
on. 

“ Then another little wind, that lived in a rocky gorge 


208 STAR PEOPLE 

on the point of land back of the roaring Lion, began to 
whisper : — 

Wh-h-i-i-is-sssss-sh-sSH — !’and blew the Reindeer 
and the Jane Ellen along from over the stern. The sails 
shivered and the sailors swung the yards ; then the sails 
filled and the ships went right on. 

“ Another wind lived in a beautiful valley, where a wa- 
terfall came tumbling down, like a white ribbon, over the 
edge of the cliff, and while the first two winds were still 
whispering and crying, this wind woke up and shouted : 

“ ‘ Whooooooooo-eeeeeee-ooooop ! ’ and came tearing 
over the green water, splashing it up in white foam under 
his feet as he ran to meet the Jane Ellen and the Rein- 
deer, that were swinging on, down the wide channel. 

“ Then, wakened by the whispering and shouting and 
crying, other little winds came racing out of their crannies 
on the islands and in the mountains, and all scurried after 
the Reindeer and the Jane Ellen, until they could n’t tell, 
to save them, which was the lee and which the weather 
shore ! And these winds were little, only compared with 
the great winds that travel over the whole Earth. They 
were large enough for this land-locked sea; and the Jane 
Ellen and the Reindeer found them all they cared to meet. 
But the two ships were sailed so well they rode weatherly 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 209 

under storm-sails ; and by continually trimming sails and 
bracingyards and luffing and doing numberless other things 
that sailors know all about — and you and I don’t under- 
stand a bit of — they kept on their course down the chan- 
nel, looking on every side for Torquillon, the selfish Water- 
spout who claimed it for his own, and would n’t let any 
one pass through. As if there were n’t room for him and 
them too ! 

“ They had not gone far before the whistling of the 
winds, like barking watch-dogs, roused Torquillon ; and he 
raised his head to see who was coming into his waters. 

“The Captain was sailing the Jane Ellen himself, so 
Taffy was free to watch; and far ahead, just under a black 
cloud that hung very low, he saw the dark water rise in a 
mound. 

“That was only for a moment, and it dropped back 
again. But the winds had seen their Master ; and — as if 
he had called them to him — they rushed from all sides, 
whistling and crying and whooping, and left the Jane 
Ellen and the Reindeer with sails drooping in the sudden 
calm, while they circled to the spot where Torquillon’s 
head had pushed above the water. 

“ And as they reached him he rose with one powerful 
leap from the waves, and caught the dark sagging cloud. 


210 


STAR PEOPLE 


pulling it down behind his head, swinging and twisting 
as the winds flung themselves upon him, and filled the cloud 
that floated like a banner and served for a sail. And then 
he caught sight of the two ships, and the chase began ! 

“ Down the channel he came flying ; and the Reindeer 
and the Jane Ellen waited, side by side, their sails hang- 
ing idly in the dead calm, and the sailors all standing by 
the braces to be ready when the winds struck them. And 
now Taffy had his wish ; for no one ever had a better 
chance to see a monstrous Waterspout. 

''As he whirled and twisted, his long trailing robes 
wound close about his feet, then curved out again, smooth 
and black in the water, like the curves of a lily-petal. 
They looked quite black to Taffy; but as the light struck 
through the edges and thin folds, he saw that they were 
green — like the green water under him. And following 
after, leaping, snarling, jumping at the edges of his robes, 
the white foaming waves joined in the chase, and came 
rushing, whirling down on the two motionless ships. 

" ‘ Wh-iiii-sss-shoooouuuuuu-eeeeEEE — ! ’ shrieked the 
winds, and the next instant Torquillon would have had 
them — but just in time the sails filled; and off flew the 
Jane Ellen to the right, and off darted the Reindeer to 
the left, and left him hanging in the wind, because he 



DOWN THE CHANNEL HE CAME FLYING 



TORQUILLON’S LAIR 21 1 

could n’t chase both at once, and did n’t know which to 
follow first. 

But it did n’t take him long to decide. He had seen 
the Reindeer before ; and it made him very angry to see 
that she had come back as good as new. He swung his 
black banner high over his head, so that it caught the 
wind from the large island, and tore after the white spots 
on the stern of the brown Reindeer, that showed plainly 
although it was beginning to be dusk. 

“ The Captain had said it was too late to go in that 
night; and here was their work just begun, and very little 
more daylight to do it in, but he did n’t say, ‘ I told you 
so,’ even to Taffy; but did his best to carry out the plan. 

“When Torquillon was almost within reach of the 
Reindeer, he glanced aside and saw the Jane Ellen slip- 
ping along down the channel, and seeming about to 
escape him altogether. With a howl of rage he turned 
and flew after her instead. Then the Reindeer had her 
chance, and she turned down the channel as if she were 
going to escape. So, crossing and turning, the two ships 
dodged under the nose of that angry Waterspout, who 
was in such a rage it was very easy to bewilder him. 

“And always they drew him nearer and nearer to the 
flat little island with the hollowed rock where they planned 


212 STAR PEOPLE 

to seal him up forever, when he should have tripped into 
it. 

“ The winds shrieked and screamed from all sides, and 
the clouds pressed down, thick and black. But just before 
they reached the island, the sunset light broke through a 
narrow rift in the clouds, and shone through the gap 
between the Lion and the Rock Man ; and all the foam- 
ing crests of the waves and the edges of Torquillon’s 
robes turned to fiery gold ; and down his dark sides and 
in the black curves about his feet were blood-red streaks ; 
and the great sable banner over his head burst into crim- 
son flame ! 

“ Then the Jane Ellen passed the island, and Torquillon 
tore after in his crimson fury, never heeding where he 
went — and the rock directly in his path. The Reindeer 
scudded after, the sailors on both ships standing by to 
lower the boats, with the wide tarpaulin ready to cover 
him over. And the Skipper fairly danced up and down 
on the deck in his excitement and delight to think how 
near they were to success. And Torquillon was almost 
on the rock ! — when up went his feet, and on went the 
flaming scarlet sail — with the purple hollow on the side 
away from the sun — and carried him clean over, without 
even touching it ; though the waves that followed crashed 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 213 

and boiled to the very top, and covered the rock from 
sight ! 

''Then the clouds closed in — black and heavy — and 
night had come almost in a minute. And there were the 
Jane Ellen and the Reindeer in the middle of an inland 
sea, without a star to guide them, the winds raging and 
shrieking about, and a furious Waterspout at their heels ! ” 

The Princess stopped — as if that could possibly be the 
end of it ! 

"Oh, Dearie! You can’t have the heart to leave them 
like that,” Phyllisy remonstrated. "We’re so excited.” 

" I ’m pretty excited myself. Miss Phyllisy, ” said the 
Princess. " I ’d like to rest a few minutes. What should 
you say to a few chocolates ? You might look at the box, at 
least, if you don’t care to eat them. It ’s a very pretty one.” 

" Where is it ? ” asked Pat. 

When she brought it to the Princess, they all crowded 
around her chair and admired the outside of the box. 
Then she lifted the cover slowly, to show the chocolates 
packed in rows of different shapes with crimpy paper, and 
little tongs to pick up the kind they wanted. And the 
Princess let them go down to the under layers to see if 
they were different. 


214 


STAR PEOPLE 


Still, they were very anxious to go on and find out what 
happened ; and when the Princess had rested and Phyllisy 
had attended to the fire — it would have needed it soon 
any way — they went back to their old places and the 
Princess began again. 

“ You know how Old Sol stays a little while every year 
in each of the Houses of the Zodiac ? 

“ It happened, when he glanced through the long slit in 
the clouds at Torquillon and the two ships, that he was 
making his visit to the Gemini Brothers ; and that was very 
fortunate, because it gave him an idea. 

“ It was only a glimpse he had of that chase, but it 
was enough to show him that it was going to be hard 
times for the Jane Ellen and the Reindeer unless some- 
thing were done for them before it was too late. And 
Castor and Pollux were right at hand and able to do it, 
so it was the most natural thing that he should send 
them.” 

“And they’re specially for sailors — friends,” remarked 
Pat. 

“ Specially; Sol knew it. ‘Now’s your chance,’ he said, 
‘you ground-and-lofty tumblers. Tumble right down, or 
that wicked Torquillon will have the Jane Ellen and the 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 215 

Reindeer made into kindling wood — if they don’t run 
ashore first, in the dark.’ 

“ The darkness came so suddenly on the ships when the 
clouds closed down in the West, that it was bewildering. 
And they were so surprised and disappointed that Tor- 
quillon had not fallen into the trap they had laid for him 
that they hardly knew what to do. 

“ Fortunately, the same darkness that confused them 
confused him, too ; but it was not long before the chase 
began again. Now the ships had no thought of any- 
thing but of how they should escape : and whether it was 
better to go back or forward they did n’t know. The 
darkness grew blacker and blacker, and they flew wildly 
back and forth — until they had no idea where they were, 
nor where the entrance lay, and could only guess where 
Torquillon was by the shrieking of the wild winds. 

“ Once he passed so close to the Reindeer that he nipped 
off her flying-jib-boom. But the flying jib was not set, of 
course, in that weather, so it did n’t much matter ; and he 
carried a trysail on the Jane Ellen out of the gaskets with 
a crack like a cannon. Still they were managing to escape 
him, when, as the ships happened to be close together, 
and Torquillon was raging down the channel some dis- 
tance away, trying to find them in the darkness, Taffy 


2I6 


STAR PEOPLE 


heard a sound — different from the screeching of the winds 
in the rigging — and it seemed to come from the foremast 
of the Jane Ellen. 

“As he listened to the sound, like music, he looked 
up at the place from whence it came, and above the ends 
of the topsail yards were two glowing flames of pure white 
fire that threw a faint light on the deck, and the music 
grew clearer to his ears. 

“And in a moment, all the men on both ships were 
looking and listening. But some could hear only the 
wind in the rigging and see two little lights hovering 
about the mast. Some could see and hear a little more ; 
and Taffy, — because he was a Welshman and had a 
young heart, — more plainly than all, saw, standing lightly 
on the yards, high, high in the air, the twin brothers, 
Castor and Pollux! Young and strong, and with star- 
tipped spears in their hands and helmets on their heads 
with the white, flaming star streaming from the top like 
a plume. 

“ The Captain, who had a young heart, heard the music 
of their singing, though he could n’t tell the words, but 
he looked at Taffy — and his eyes were shining, so the 
Captain knew he understood, and that the beautiful Star 
People wanted to save them, and that Taffy was the one 



STANDING LIGHTLY ON THE YARDS, HIGH, HIGH IN THE AIR, 
THE TWIN BROTHERS CASTOR AND POLLUX 



'•i 




i 



) V, 




> 

t 

t 



I 


\ 





> 


I . 

i 


I 


i 



I 


< 

* • I 

0 



' • 


■ •\ ■ 




t 


ri’i 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 217 

to help them do it. So he said softly, ‘ Mr. Morganwg, 
you may take command.’ 

“ Taffy only nodded, he was watching and listening so 
intently. And the Shining Brothers were singing : — 

Follow through the darkness 
Where the Lion roars, 

Where the Rock Man, scowling, 

Marks Torquillon’s shores ; 

“ Through the Gateway flying. 

From his fury free, — 

Follow, Taffy, follow 
To the open sea ! 

“ They pointed their star-tipped spears and Taffy gave 
his orders : and fast and faster sped the Jane Ellen 
through the black waters, the Reindeer following, led by 
the gleaming flames on her topsail yards — though the 
Skipper could n’t hear a sound of the music nor see any- 
thing more than the little lights, because he wasn’t a 
Welshman, and if he had a young heart, he was too impa- 
tient to listen to what it said. 

“ Torquillon, too, saw the little flames of fire, and 
saw how fast they flew, and he knew the ships were 
escaping. And with the winds howling and shrieking 
(they were hoarse by this time, you may believe, for they 


2i8 


STAR PEOPLE 


had had no rest for two hours), and the waves snapping 
at his heels, he came tearing once more up the channel 
— after the Jane Ellen and the Reindeer, that were flying 
for their lives ! 

“And when they reached the Gateway and slipped 
by the roaring Lion’s jaws, Torquillon was so close he 
could n’t stop himself, and dashed his whole height against 
the towering rock ! 

“ It was like the crash of a hundred great breakers at 
once on a rocky beach ; and he slipped and splashed down 
the streaming rock, into the sea at the foot of it, while the 
Jane Ellen and the Reindeer passed safely out, to the 
singing of the Star Brothers: — 

“ Follow, follow safely. 

To the open sea ! 

“ Then the two flames were gone from the topsail yards, 
and the ships dropped anchor to wait for morning. 

“ But don’t you think the Star People were interested 
when Castor and Pollux came back to their House in the 
Zodiac } 

“ They were all waiting for them, and they listened, quiet 
as mice, while Pollux told them (with Castor correcting 
him when he did n’t tell it straight) how they had saved 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 219 

the ships and escaped from Torquillon; and what a smash 
and tumble he had had at the end. 

‘“And that’s the end of him' said Cassiopeia. 

“ ‘ Bless you, no, it is n’t ! ’ said Castor. ‘ He does n’t mind 
a spill like that. Of course it shakes him up, but he ’ll 
come up like a jack-in-the-box.’ 

“ ‘ Uglier than ever,’ remarked Orion. 

“ ‘ Then he ought to be ashamed of himself,’ said Cas- 
siopeia. 

“ ‘ I don’t thuppoth he had any bringing up,’ said Draco. 
‘ He doeth n’t theem to have any mannerth.’ 

‘“Not a manner,’ said Pollux. ‘And he’s too old to 
learn.’ 

“ ‘ But he can’t be allowed to be rude and selfish where 
polite ships want to sail,’ said Castor. ‘ Taffy will wait, 
and we are going back to-morrow night to teach him 
that.’ 

“ ‘ How ? ’ asked Perseus. 

“‘We want to talk with you about that,’ answered 
Castor. 

“ So they talked and they talked, and I ’m not going to 
tell you what they said ; but this is what happened after 
they had finished talking. 

“ Orion went striding away on his long legs, with his 


220 


STAR PEOPLE 


sword jingling at his side and the two dogs capering 
before him, until he said, ‘ Come to heel, Sirius ! Heel, 
Procyon ! ’ So they came to heel and the three walked 
fast along the Milky Way, through the star daisies, and 
at last they came to the edge of a great dark hole. It 
might have been a small lake, but there was no water in 
it, or, if there was, it was so deep down that it could not 
be seen. It seemed bottomless. No star-flowers grew 
around the bleak margin ; and you would n’t wonder if 
you had been with Orion and felt the cold that came from 
the black emptiness which he looked into. 

“ He did n’t spend any time looking, but he knelt by the 
edge, with Sirius and Procyon watching every motion from 
either side, where they stood almost tumbling in. And they 
saw that Orion held in his hand two small, curious-shaped 
flasks. He took from his pocket a ball of moonbeam cord, 
and made a slip-noose in the end of it and put it around 
the neck of one of the flasks. Then he lowered it into the 
depths beneath him, and he and the dogs watched it go 
down — down — until it was swallowed up in the dark: 
but still he lowered the fine shining cord that was like a 
thin shaft of light. After a time he began to draw it up 
again. And when he had the flask in his hand, it was full 
of liquid, clear as crystal. 


221 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 

“He put in the stopper — quick — and lowered the other. 
When that was filled he wound up the cord, and he and 
the dogs came striding and capering back to the Gemini’s 
House. They were looking for him, and Orion handed 
them the flasks.” 

“ They could n’t go themselves unless Sol told them, 
could they ? ” asked Pat. 

“ Of course not, the Zodiac People,” said Phyllisy. “ I ’m 
perfectly wild to know what ’s in those flasks, but I don’t 
want you to tell, Dearie.” 

“ She will,” said Pat. 

“ Of course, at the right time. Please go on. Dearie.” 

Then the Princess went on : — 

“Very early the next morning Captain Gryller came 
aboard the Jane Ellen ; and you never would have guessed, 
to see him, that it was his plan that had been such a 
failure, and that they had come so near losing the ships 
and their own lives because he had insisted on going in 
so late. When he stepped on deck he looked about him, 
and was surprised to see that they were not making ready 
to sail. 

“‘ I ’ve just come to say good-by,’ he said to the Cap- 
tain. ‘ We had a narrow escape last night, did n’t we.^’’ 

“ ‘ Yes, we did,’ said \he Captain. 


222 


STAR PEOPLE 


“‘Well — we ’ll have to go around the islands after all. 
I ’ve wasted too much time already, and I must be off.’ 

‘“Not yet,’ said the Captain. ‘ We ’ve only half done our 
work — not even that — and I ’m not going to leave until 
that channel is clear.’ 

“‘But what’s the use.f^’ said the Skipper. ‘We’ll just 
risk our ships for nothing. You saw how we failed last 
night! ’ 

“ ‘ That ’s because we did n’t do it right,’ said the Cap- 
tain. ‘ Who helped us last night } ’ 

“ ‘ The Star People.’ 

“‘Exactly. And they’ll help us again. And the Jane 
Ellen is going to stay here to do it 1 ’ 

“ ‘ Then the Reindeer will stay, too,’ said the Skipper. 

“ That day the sailors and every one had a good rest, 
for it was very hot and the fight with Torquillon had been 
hard work, and they wanted to be fresh to begin again. 
So all they did was to make the Jane Ellen and the Rein- 
deer ship-shape, and wait for night and the Star Twins. 

“ When twilight came, the captain of the Reindeer saw 
the little flag fluttering from the peak of the Jane Ellen 
that said it was time to sail ; and the two ships moved for- 
ward side by side, like soft gray birds in the gathering 
darkness. 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 223 

“ When they reached the Lion and passed into the 
shadow of the clouds that hung low and black over Tor- 
quillon’s Lair, it looked as if they were about to enter an 
enormous cavern, and night fell all at once, but not quite 
dark. For far as eye could see, the water was covered 
with a pale greenish glow — like phantom light. The crests 
of the little waves crinkled and crisped up in faint flames, 
and the smoke of the Sea-fire rose where the forefoot of 
the ship cut through the black water and turned it back 
in ripples and streams of light. 

“ All sailors know the phosphorescence, and Tafly had 
seen it often, but never so much nor so beautiful. And 
over this lake of pale, floating light the two ships sailed 
side by side, and the Mate of the Jane Ellen was in com- 
mand. 

“ As they passed fairly between the Lion and the 
Frowning Man, the Wind from the Lion’s side cried: 
‘ Mmmmmmm-whooooo-uuuuu-eeeeEEE — ! ’ and rushed 
out upon them. Then all the other winds awoke and soon 
were screaming about them ; and with their voices Taffy 
heard the sound of music — and there on the topsail yard, 
poised light as two dragonflies, stood the lovely Star 
Brothers with the streaming white flame-feathers in their 
helmets. 


224 


STAR PEOPLE 


“ They pointed straight ahead with their star-tipped 
spears and sang their brave song : — 


“Onward, and onward, fly fast o’er the foaming wave, 
Onward, still onward, with never a fear j 
Meet the foe boldly, heed not though the wild winds rave ; 
Over the Sea-fire points on the bright spear. 

“ Onward, still onward ! Torquillon in all his might 
Whirling comes, swirling, hot rage in his heart ! 

Vainly they fight, who ’gainst Right and the Stars fight, — 
Cold shall he be ere his rage will depart. 

“ Onward, then, onward — press forward to meet him ; 
Torquillon comes raging ! — and coldly we ’ll greet him ! 


“ The straining ropes of the rigging hummed and sang 
with them as if the ships were mighty harps ; and they 
held their way steadily down the channel in spite of the 
frantic winds, to meet Torquillon ; and what they were to 
do with him, they had n’t an idea, but they were sure Cas- 
tor and Pollux would show them when the time came. 


“ That was a tremendous spill Torquillon had, just as 
he thought he had the two ships that had defied him, 
where he could crush them the next minute. So he was 
furiously angry when he gathered himself together at the 


225 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 

foot of the rock ; but at least he had taught them he was 
not to be trifled with ! He took himself off, far down the 
channel ; and there he sulked and made himself perfectly 
miserable because he could n’t decide whether he would 
rather have the ships come back, so that he could crush 
them, or have them so frightened they never would try it 
again, nor let any one else. 

“ He had fallen into a sulky sleep when the watching 
winds cried, ‘ WhiiiissssssshhhhhhooooouuuueeeEEE — !’ 
and he wakened and raised his head as the winds from 
beyond him rushed by to meet the two ships. 

“ He gave a scream of mingled rage and joy that called 
the winds to him, and, springing up, caught the floating 
banner that hung, always ready, over his head, and came 
whirling down the channel, black and furious and ter- 
rible to see ! And the two ships came on steadily, never 
swerving. 

“ The Sea-fire ran up and down, in and out of the folds 
of his trailing robes in streaks of pale light, and curled on 
the edges of the waves that foamed about his feet. So they 
came nearer and nearer — and then they were so close 
he towered above them, higher than the tops of the masts 
— and the next instant it would have been too late — when 
Castor darted like a dragonfly to the fore-royal yard of 


226 


STAR PEOPLE 


the Reindeer, and pointed to the left with his spear, and 
at the same moment Pollux mounted to the fore-royal 
yard of the Jane Ellen, and pointed to the right with his 
spear, and the two ships turned to the right and the left, 
and Torquillon went straight on to pass between them 
before he could stop or turn himself. 

“ And as they swept by, the Twins raised their arms ; 
and each held in his hand a curious-shaped flask, filled 
with a liquid, clear as crystal. 

“ They flung it out, over Torquillon ! and as it came 
from the mouth of the flask, it spread and pushed and 
billowed, on and on, pulsing and crowding in clouds of 
vapor ; and the air grew cold — cold — so chill it seemed 
no living thing could stand against it. 

“ The winds cried : ‘ Ughhhhhoooouuuuughhhhhh-h — ' 
and fled back to their caves. But they carried some 
of the cold with them, and the monkeys and cockatoos 
shivered and sneezed in the trees as the frost-needles 
pricked them. And some of them had bad colds the next 
morning. 

“ And as the ships swept by, almost within reach, and 
the vapor poured over him, Torquillon shrieked with rage 
and loosed his hands from his banner, to catch them. It 
floated off ; and Taffy, looking back from the Jane Ellen, 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 227 

and every one on the two ships saw their enemy stand, 
his hands still lifted above his head, and the drapery of 
his robes hanging stiff about him — shining and glittering 
in the calm moonlight like diamonds and emeralds and 
sapphires — no longer a terrible Waterspout, but a glorious 
Iceberg, frozen to his hot, angry heart ! 

“And all the air was full of finest diamond frost-needles 
— drifting — floating — slowly settling about him and over 
the two ships — until every spar and rope was coated with 
hoar-frost, and the sails and decks shone like silver ; but 
the Star Twins were gone. 

“ Then all the clouds drifted away, and the dark blue sky 
of the tropic night arched over Torquillon’s Lair, with the 
throbbing stars looking down; and the most beautiful 
thing they saw was that wonderful Iceberg — all his rage 
gone — calm and shining in the tranquil sea.’' 

The Princess’s voice ceased. There was no sound, only 
a long-drawn breath through the room, as if great music 
had just come softly to a close. 

She began again in a different voice — talking : “ But 
the Captain knew it never would do to leave him there ; 
for he would melt in the hot sun and be as bad as ever ; 
though he was frozen harder than any ice he ever had 


228 


STAR PEOPLE 


seen. So they did n’t wait even for morning, but fastened 
ropes around him and set off to tow him North. They 
did n’t mind if it took a month — it was such a good thing 
to do. They carried him far up toward the North Pole, 
and left him frozen fast in the ice. And he will never get 
away ! 

“ Now ships pass freely through the wide channel that 
was Torquillon’s Lair ; and since he has gone the clouds 
have left too, and the Rock Man has forgotten to frown, 
and if the Lion roars, it is a roar of welcome. The little 
winds caper and frisk around the ships until the channel 
seems the pleasantest spot in the ocean, and they are sorry 
to leave it.” 

The Kitten had her foot already off the edge of the 
couch, but she stopped, because the Princess leaned for- 
ward, with her finger up, to say one more word, and mis- 
chief began to dance in her eyes. “ And,” — said the Prin- 
cess, “ if any one asks Taffy if he ever saw a Waterspout, 
his eyes shine and his white teeth, and he says, ‘ Sure ! ’ ” 

Then she opened her arms and the Kitten ran into 
them. 

“ I ’ll ask him,” she said. “ Will he tell me ? Will he 
come soon ? ” She asked it so quickly, it was all one ques- 
tion, and her arm around the Princess’s neck pulled her 


TORQUILLON’S LAIR 229 

head forward where the glow from the burned-down fire 
was on her face. It grew suddenly like a rose. 

“ I should n’t be one bit surprised if he did,” she 
answered. 

“ But, Dearie-Z>^^r^^/,” said Phyllisy, perched on the 
arm of the chair and playing with the Princess’s fingers, 
“I wish you’d just explain this: You said it was so long 
ago — Taffy and all — nobody can remember when. I 
thought it was — not exactly ‘ Ancient,’ you know, but 
‘ Once upon a time ’ ? ” 

“That is perfectly true,” said the Princess, soberly. 
“ But you know — ” 

“Yes?” prompted Miss Phyllisy. 

“You know, Taffy had a young heart? It seems to me, 
he must have been always.” 

That kept everybody silent for a moment, thinking 
about it. Then Pat’s voice came from among the pillows 
in the dusky corner of the couch: “Well — I hope to 
goodness he ’ll like us ! ” 

“ I don’t see how he could help it,” said the Princess. 


Come back^ Little Katharines^ still for a time to our glamour- 
worlds 

Ere our ship's prow touches the daylight shore^ 

And her sails are furled. 

The sun has gone on his way o'er the rnountain's rim ; 

The mighty Earth-shadow creeps slowly up from the Eastj 
And the heavens grow dim. 

Seoy in the soft gloaming the stars steal forth into sights 

Till over the dun Earth-plain broods the deep blue vault 
Of the jeweled night. 

They are there y dear hearts ; each one of our Star Folk blest 

Faithful and motionless stands^ borne on by the firmament's 
Ceaseless roll to the West. 

They listeUy they wait, expectant. For what ? In the vast, 

Deep hush of the night their heart-beats throb in the stars. 

At last, — 

In the Northern heavens a gleam of wavering light 

Floats upward — dies. Then again — pulsing up, ever stronger. 
More bright. 

With the first, faint gleam, a shadow of sound — a sigh 

As a breath over harp-strings — sets trembling the stars 
As it passes through Earth and Sky. 

{Too fine for our bodily ears, little sisters, but clear 


STAR PEOPLE 


231 


To the blessed to whom all beauty is one. Only look ; 

You shall hear!) 

Fuller toned now, and deeper^ as broadening pennons of light 
Uprush from below the horizon ; the heavens are alive — 

Filled with splendor the night ! 

What do the Star People see that is hid from our eyes^ 

Where the ramparts of hills rise black in the North 
’ Gainst the flame of the skies f 
Ranks beyond ranks of radiant Spirits ! They stand 
In dazzling circles ; — a golden censer swinging 
From each ones hand. 

From the Shining Ones' censers, soft swinging, there float and 
ascend 

Streams of pure radiance ; and one with their rhythm, the deep 
Swelling harmonies blend. 

Like music heard faintly in dreams — first afar — it draws near. 
Till the triumphant chant sweeps into the Star People s hearts ; 
Then, joyous and clear: — 

** The Heavens declare the glory — ” There follows a gush, 

A bursting in spray of the sound, as it pours like a wave 
In its overwhelming rush / 

The splendor ineffable blinds them ; their hearts fill with awe 
And reverence — they know not for what ; all the Power that they 
know 

Is their Law. 


232 


STAR PEOPLE 


Yet Law is obedient to this Nameless One, 

Whose glory all Creation sings ; and shall be 
While the Ages run ! 

Might, Power, Dominion — ” Still the censers swing 
The Heavens declare, in light upsurging still. 

The glory of the King, 

May not the Star Folk, little sisters mine. 

Faint shadows though they be — and still obedient 
To Law divine — 

Declare His glory, Whom they may not know ; 

And in the Northern Lights His worship see. 

As we below ? 


1 .^ 


($()e S^iter^ide 

CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 


U . S . A 

















m y ^ 




wm- 






• *- ^ • r 






mm': "’ 

kr.'<'' ■v'^r,'. * 




' . ■' 


W^V-. 




’•M' 


'. ' I . 


VV ’ V 


rff'V^Jf te) * •'1 
i,*®'- ■< 
U. 

^7A 

' \\ 


*< i - 


'rt 

4^5. i - ir ■ 


••. 4 


: ' "'A r '' r ; » 


■ ,*1 


4 I 


1 ' «. < 




• M, *« X ■ * 




■• :,f,' ^ ,’ 


» >■ '♦ 

„^!.k « •. J-f 
• '4 < • 






,:A ■'. ‘>''A^.' 


• ?•/ L'i ■*•> 


r. A. ' '■.■!. 






4 <f 


\ 




M.<i 


“/♦ V.. 



A- 


V I 


• :i 


. { 



’ v' 

■ ‘ : * 


JPtPP-i' ^ ^ - A 

Wkdr- ■; i® '.'>■■ 

vl'>Kvr^>'V A' 7 

' -iS './)..» v> ' , ■• 

' ■ ' s* 


l^< 





nKpui 




y '1'- 

3n\ • 

«'•''' A* 


*• V 



iV 




^ 1 ► “ > 


I . t r , . 


ir 


' V ''/.I ..i'l 


*' . 1 • 


- - 

■ A,/> h-' 




.a; iMi»i-'i,\;<. 




'■ > 



«4» 


O. 




')!(' -."i ’ ', ‘ ■^'v’’''A''^'' 

AV/i^',; ■ :j • ■'>: 




r^'ii 


>4 • 




' •L' i » .• » .•- 

‘>v ■• V 


.• / 




■ W ' 


'A: 


• '-.V' , 



'/ 


t**' 





1/ 


; 4 . 


. 1 


' ; I 




fJC^' 3 Wio 


^ ■ . ’ 

. . . 

■ ; ' ' ■ i ■ 



» 


« 


* 1 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 

3 1910 



I 




















